Falklands now ‘landmine free’ almost 40 years after the war
THE LAST landmines in the Falklands have been cleared — almost 40 years after the war.
The islands will be declared “mine free” at a ceremony on Saturday.
One islander will be picked to detonate 20 anti-tank devices in a symbolic final blast on the beaches outside Stanley.
More than 100 deminers — mostly from Zimbabwe — have cleared more than 13,000 mines and unexploded bombs left behind by Argentine troops in 1982.
Teams from Safelane Global, a private firm, cleared 128 mine fields covering 23million square metres since 2009. Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said: “Thanks to UK efforts, there are no more dangerous anti-personnel mines on the Falklands Islands.”
John Hare, 62, a Falklands veteran who led the demining project, said beaches near Stanley were the last to be cleared.
He added: “Detection equipment was useless as the mines were buried so deep. We used armoured excavators with sifting buckets and a screening machine on the sand.”
His teams cleared Italian, Spanish, Israeli and American mines, mostly made of plastic.
Darren Cormack, Chief Executive of the Manchester-based landmine clearance charity, Mines Advisory Group (MAG), said 19 people a day are killed or injured by mines and unexplored ordnance. “Over half of civilian casualties are civilian,” he told The Sun.
Most read in News
“The clearance of landmines from the Falklands, three years ahead of schedule, is evidence of the UK addressing what is a global problem.
" The UK government is helping us rid some of the world’s most conflict-affected countries of these deadly devices, with British taxpayer support positively impacting the lives of over a million people since 2018.
“As well as saving lives, this support has ensured vast areas of land can be returned to communities so people can grow crops, access water and build homes, schools and health clinics, lifting them out of poverty.”
GOT a story? RING The Sun on 0207 782 4104 or WHATSAPP on 07423720250 or EMAIL [email protected]