Quang Tri province: The accident happened at 5 p.m., in the front yard of Mrs. Vo Thi Ha’s, a local scrap dealer in Cam Nghia commune, Cam Lo district. Four people returned to the village after spending the whole day in the woods searching for scrap metal. Two of them were married men, who do this for a living; the other two were 8th grade students, who do this for pocket money. They came to Mrs. Ha’s to sell the metal junks collected in the day. Gathered in the front yard, they emptied their bags on the ground and started sorting out the stuff. One of them was Vo Van Hanh, Ha’s younger brother. Hanh not only sorted out the scrap, but also checked each piece of metal to make sure no dirt stuck on them for accurate weighing later (the scraps are sold by weight).

Another boy appeared as the four were focusing at their work. It was Nguyen Cong Thanh, 10 years old, who came in to buy some candies for his sick younger brother at home. The following is what recalled by the survivors: Hanh was tapping metal junks to get rid of the dirt, and when he reached over for one item, the other man warned him “do not tap that one, it still has the fuse in it”… seconds later the explosion happened.

Commune Official Pointing at The Detonation Point

The blast hit all five people on that tiny yard. Two were killed instantly on spot included the innocent ten-year-old boy. Hanh received severe injuries at vital parts. He died later at the emergency room of the Quang Tri general hospital. The two students received minor injuries.

Thua Thien Hue: Earlier in the day, a group of young men were searching for scrap metal in Duong Hoa commune, Huong Thuy district, Thua Thien Hue province. At 2:30 p.m., a man named Khue dug up something by the size of a guava. Without knowing what it was, he called his friends up to have a look. As the two men were walking up, the device detonated right on Khue’s hand.

Khue lost his left hand and received other injuries on the left side of his body. His two friends received minor injuries.