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QTMAC staff member recording coordinates where the explosion created a large crater. Photo: Quang Tri Mine Action Center.

According to an official report filed by the Nam Cua Viet Commune Military Command, the explosion was suspected to have been caused by a deeply buried wartime projectile that automatically detonated in the garden field of Mr. Nguyen Tac, located west of Le Xuyen Village. Local police and commune military officers quickly arrived at the scene to assess the situation and reassure nearby residents.

 

A video recorded by Mr. Tac’s exterior security camera at 16:22 on 31 October 2025 shows the blast sending soil and water high into the air, startling the family and neighbors. Fortunately, no one was outside at the time.

In April 2013, an elderly couple in the same village of Le Xuyen narrowly escaped injury when a five-inch naval shell buried beneath their home exploded one Saturday evening. They were unharmed, though part of their house was damaged.

Acknowledging the official report from the Nam Cua Viet Commune Military Command, a team from the Quang Tri Mine Action Center (QTMAC) visited the site on Saturday morning to verify and collect information. Mr. Nguyen Tac, 62, confirmed that the explosion created a crater about four meters wide and up to three meters deep in the rice garden next to his home, where the family had recently completed their harvest.

According to QTMAC data, Nam Cua Viet Commune has 43 Confirmed Hazardous Areas (CHAs) totaling 16,924,591 square meters. Of this, 35 CHAs (14,925,047 m²) have been cleared. Six CHAs remain uncleared, including the one near Mr. Tac’s rice field.

Screenshot of the Confirmed Hazardous Area (CHA) pending clearance near the location of the explosion in Le Xuyen Village. Source: QTMAC Database.

Located along Quang Tri’s eastern coastline, Trieu Phong District suffered heavy naval bombardment between 1968 and 1972. Many coastal communes still contain unexploded projectiles, posing an ongoing threat to local communities.

This incident serves as another reminder of the lingering danger from wartime ordnance in Quang Tri Province, which straddled the former Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) dividing North and South Vietnam from 1954 to 1975 and endured some of the heaviest bombardment of the war.

Data managed by QTMAC shows that a total of 619.465.479 square meters of land in Quang Tri* have been confirmed contaminated with cluster munitions. To date, 44.4 percent of that area has been made safe through the continued clearance efforts of MAG, PeaceTrees Vietnam, and NPA/RENEW.

Residents are reminded to never handle unexploded ordnance and to report any discoveries immediately to the Quang Tri Mine Action Center Hotline: 0901 941 941.
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* Administrative note: As of 1 July 2025, the former Quang Tri Province was merged with neighboring Quang Binh Province to establish a new, larger Quang Tri Province. The figures above refer to confirmed hazardous areas (CHAs) within the boundaries of the former Quang Tri Province.

Source: RENEW/NPA

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