00:00It's been eight decades since World War II ended here on the island of Guadalcanal.
00:07But Solomon Islanders are still living in fear from the danger of unexploded ordinances.
00:13Last night, right behind me, one exploded.
00:18A young man is in hospital in stable condition with injuries to one of his arms from this explosion.
00:24Authorities say a burning tree stump triggered an old World War II bomb and because it happened in a populated area, it caused panic.
00:34I came out of the office. I went out to our gate.
00:39From there, I met the victim from the explosion.
00:43But then suddenly I was holding all the hands, the hand and the armpit.
00:50Yeah, they were injured, bleeding, causing.
00:54So I just called help for our security to help at the moment.
01:00The last time a deadly blast occurred was in 2021, resulting in multiple deaths.
01:06Across the Pacific, thousands of unexploded ordinances lay scattered, a grim legacy of the battle.
01:13Just earlier this week, the Solomon Islands government approved a national policy dedicating a whole government division to look into these leftover explosives.
01:23But what's clear is the country doesn't have the resources to deal with the problem alone and is looking at partners, Australia, Japan and the United States for assistance.
01:33In the meantime, for the people living here in Honiara dealing with World War II ordinances continues to be part of daily life.
01:43≤
01:49≤
01:52≤
01:52≤
01:57≤
Comments