Six Killed in UXO Accidents During 2025 as Clearance Operations Continue

This Week

Unexploded ordnance (UXO) remains one of the top problems facing Laos, claiming six lives in 2025, according to officials, as clearance operations continue across the country.

In 2025, 15 accidents were recorded, resulting in 25 casualties, 19 injured and six dead. Despite ongoing clearance efforts, the threat persists. In 2026 so far, two accidents have been reported involving seven victims, though no deaths were recorded.

Clearance operations are underway in multiple provinces. 

In Champasak Province, Norwegian People’s Aid (NPA) teams have been working at a coffee plantation in Lak 48 village, Paksong district, since October 2025. To date, they have destroyed 1,388 cluster munitions. Teams reported dense contamination, with more than 500 UXO items concentrated within a 1,000 square meter area, significantly slowing operations.

In Houaphanh Province in northern Laos, five unexploded bombs were discovered in Viengxay District in January. Authorities commenced technical clearance on 15 January at two locations. So far, 1.4 hectares have been cleared, with three BLU-26 cluster munitions and two other explosive devices safely removed. Despite hard soil and dense forest conditions slowing progress, teams completed the work as planned.

Laos remains the world’s most heavily bombed country per capita, with over 270 million cluster munitions dropped between 1964 and 1973. Around 30 percent failed to explode and continue to cause casualties each year.

President Thongloun Sisoulith, speaking at the 30th anniversary of the National UXO Clearance Program established on 13 February 1996, emphasized that UXO clearance remains a top national priority, directly linked to poverty reduction, safe land use, and socio-economic development. 

He said UXO clearance is about restoring the right to live safely, and affirmed the government’s continued cooperation with international partners to make Lao soil truly safe.

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