| Demolition Day
The final report Dispatch filed Sayturday December 8 @ 633 | 
A defused Romanian made MIA 75 anti personnel mine being passed between MAG deminers as they prepare a controlled demolition of mines and unexploded ordinance (UXO). This type of mine is one of the most commonly found in Angola. MAG regularly destroys mines, bombs, mortars and rockets that have been cleared in the region.
Luena, Angola. 08-12-2001
Photo: © Sean Sutton / MAG | Demolition
day is on a Saturday once a fortnight . Today MAG destroyed 41 mines - 4 anti-tank, 8 bounding fragmentation, 15 steak mounted fragmentation and 19 anti-personnel blast mines, an 82mm projectile and numerous detonators. After they have been found, the items are kept safely in an underground bunker in the MAG compound until the demolition. The mines and UXO were
carefully passed up the stairs from the bunker and placed in a sand-filled trailer which was then driven very slowly to the demolition site. Deminers dug a deep pit and placed the anti-personnel mines and UXO at the
bottom. Anti-tank mines are set on top and act as the primary charge which
destroys all the items underneath in the demolition. | 
MAG deminers carrying anti personnel landmines to the demolition pit to be destroyed in a controlled explosion.
Luena, Angola. 08-12-2001
Photo: © Sean Sutton / MAG | In Angola MAG deminers are highly trained and are able to disarm many of the mines found. Some types are known to be unstable and are always blown in situ. Explosives for demolitions are extremely difficult to obtain in
Angola. MAG therefore must use mines to destroy mines. Safety is always the highest priority. Staff spread out to cordon off the area and confirmed by radio that no one is in danger. The demolition was
fired electrically using a 300 meter length of cable linking the detonators
to the 'shrike'. The cable was tested and after a final cordon check and a
countdown the button on the 'shrike' was pressed. Boom! The end of the
life of these mines. And perhaps the saving of human lives. The people of
Luena are one small step closer to living in a safe environment,
but there
is a great deal of work yet to do. | 
A MAG deminer placing a bounding fragmentation mine into the demolition pit. Bounding fragmentation mines are usually linked to a trip wire which initiates the mine. This type of mine jumps into the air to a height of approximately one meter and explodes, sending shrapnel in a 360 degree radius. It has a killing range of 30 meters.
Luena, Angola. 08-12-2001
Photo: © J.B. Russell | This is the last report from seven days of 'Live from Angola'. Our aim was to open a window onto the daily reality of life in an area contaminated with
landmines and UXOs and to show the difference that is being made by MAG and
other aid agencies in Luena. The MAG capacity here is small, but we hope you
have seen the value of the work that is being done. Due to the scale of the problem and the desperate need for safe land in this region, it is imperative that the existing capacity is expanded. More
funding commitments are needed to help MAG help the people of Luena live
more safely and to clear landmines so that they can plant the seeds of a
better future.
| 
The cloud plum from the demolition of mines, bombs,
mortars and rockets cleared from lands desperately needed by the residents
of Luena. Luena, Angola. 08-12-2001
Photo: © J.B. Russell
| | 
