March 11, 2022
Cambodia recovers war-left aerial bomb from riverbed in central Kampong Thom province

A Cambodian explosive ordnance disposal diving team has safely removed a war-left unexploded U.S. Mark 82 (Mk 82) bomb from the Stung Sen river in the central Kampong Thom province, a mine clearance chief said on Thursday.

Heng Ratana, head of the Cambodian Mine Action Center (CMAC), said the center’s underwater clearance team has recovered the bomb from the river bottom to the shore on Wednesday after a two-day mission.

“The CMAC’s underwater clearance team has safely cleared an aerial bomb Mk 82 as the remnants of war,” he said.

Ratana said the team found the bomb after fishermen reported to the local authority recently that they felt a large bomb 5 meters underneath the water while fishing in the river.

According to the CMAC, the bomb, which was dropped from a U.S. warplane between 1965 and 1973, weighed about 230 kg.

A total of 39 aerial bombs were found and safely removed in different provinces throughout Cambodia last year, the CMAC said, adding that most of the bombs were Mk 82 and M117 massive bombs weighing about 340 kg each.
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