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Human remains, artifacts found at airport excavation in Ho Chi Minh City

Human remains, artifacts found at airport excavation in Ho Chi Minh City

Tuesday, July 11, 2017, 11:23 GMT+7

Multiple artifacts and fragments of human bone have been found during an ongoing excavation at Tan Son Nhat International Airport in Ho Chi Minh City, where a possible mass grave site is said to contain the remains of hundreds of Vietnamese soldiers killed during wartime.

The first signs of human remains were found on Monday, four days after the first sod was turned at the southern airport in search of the mass grave.

Artifacts such as shirts, backpacks, parachute fabric, belts and leather wallets were discovered at around noon at the excavation site to the west of the airport, according to Major General Tran Huu Tai, deputy political commissar of Vietnam’s 7th Military Region.

Shortly after discovering the artifacts, members of the search team also found bone fragments suspected to belong to Vietnamese revolutionary soldiers who were killed during the Tet Offensive of 1968.

The Tet Offensive was a military campaign of surprise attacks on several commands and control centers throughout U.S.-controlled southern Vietnam, including the Tan Son Nhat airbase, launched by the People’s Army of Vietnam in 1968.

The name of the offensive comes from the Tet holiday, or Vietnamese Lunar New Year, when the first major attacks took place.

Ongoing excavations at Tan Son Nhat International Airport in Ho Chi Minh City. Clip: Tuoi Tre

The discoveries have solidified the idea that a second mass grave is present at Tan Son Nhat, after the first one containing the remains of 182 soldiers was unearthed in a similar excavation in 1995.

“However, the number of human artifacts and bone fragments so far discovered is too small to jump to any conclusion at the moment,” Tai said. “We are conducting the search with diligence and care, and will make an official announcement [on the existence of the grave] once enough evidence has been found.”

The scale of the search is expected to be increased on Tuesday, Tai added.

The excavation site is located in an open field to the west of the airport, near the end of one of its runways and around 100 meters from the site of the first mass grave discovery in 1995.

According to materials collected by architect Nguyen Xuan Thang and the Military Command of Ho Chi Minh City, if a second mass grave exists, it could contain the remains of hundreds of revolutionary soldiers who were buried together after being killed during their attack on the airbase in 1968.

Phát hiện nhiều di vật và mẩu xương tại sân bay Tân Sơn Nhất

Major General Tran Huu Tai (L) and military officers inspect the suspected location of a mass grave at Tan Son Nhat International Airport in Ho Chi Minh City. Photo: Tuoi Tre

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