3 May 08

Refs:  A.  NZ P109, Chap 3, Sect 1.
 B.  DFO 50, Part 2, Chap 1, Annex E.

Situation

1. On 30 April 08 at 1445 hrs the NZPRT EOD Team was notified of possible UXOs in vicinity of the smaller Buddha in Bamian township. The EOD Team conducted a patrol and was guided to the location by local Disbandment of Illegal Armed Groups (DIAG) members.   Upon arrival the ammunition was confirmed as:

 a. Qty 11 – USSR, Rocket Fuze PD V-5K,

 b. Qty 1 – MP-B1 Chinese Fuze,

 c. Qty 2 –Pakistani Rocket 85mm HEAT P1 MK1.

2. The fuzes were assessed as safe to transport as they had already been handled. One 85mm rocket was mostly buried but was assessed as a blind due to damage to the nose cone. The second rocket was empty apart from the fuzing component. The EOD Team Leader informed DIAG that one day of preparation was required in order to inform local authorities.   DIAG were further advised that this item needed to be disposed of in situ.

3. The NZPRT was subsequently advised through United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) that a complaint had been made by local authorities claiming the explosion had damaged the Buddha and some surrounding caves.  

Aim

4.  The aim of this minute is to detail the actions/methods used by the NZPRT/EOD Team Leader in conducting the UXO disposal.

Notification of Local Authorities

5. There are set NZPRT SOPs for notifying local authorities when a UXO controlled explosion is to occur.   Given the sensitivities around this UXO site, the controlled explosion was delayed by 24 hours so all stakeholders could be informed and concur with the urgent need to dispose of the UXO in situ.   The local Afghan National Beginning Programme (ANBP) and DIAG representatives were the main conduits for passing on the information concerning this disposal.  ANBP/DIAG informed local police authorities, relevant UN organisations and the Bamyan Governor that the disposal was to take place the following day between 1400 hrs and 1500 hrs. Governor Sarabi requested that if it was safe to do so, the item should be removed from the location.   The item was not safe for transport and was destroyed on location at 1440 hrs on 1 May 08.   The area was cordoned by local Afghan National Police (ANP) personnel whilst the disposal was completed.  

Render Safe Procedure (RSP)

6. A Pakistani 85mm HEAT rocket contains a piezo electric fuzing component which poses a considerable hazard when conducting RSPs. IAW with Ref B it was decided that there was no possibility of safely moving the rocket. This decision is also supported by the relevant US 60 series publications.

7. The rocket was located approximately 50m to the right of the smaller Buddha and was buried at the foot of a bank which was a further 20m down the slope. In order to eliminate the possible risk of damage to the bank the EOD Team Leader decided to conduct a remote pull of the rocket approx 15m further down the slope into a ditch. This ditch effectively provided an undercut for the explosion.   Once the rocket was located in the ditch a 10 minute safety time was applied. Once elapsed the EOD Team moved forward to set up the disposal. To achieve effective tamping, 15 full sandbags were placed onto the rocket to further reduce blast effects and contain all fragmentation.

8. As per Ref A the recommended number of sandbags used with an undercut is approx 10 sandbags per .5kg of high explosive. A Pakistani 85mm HEAT rocket contain 376gr of RDX. This added to the 300gr of C4 used gave a total net explosive quantity of 676gr of explosive used in this explosion.  14 sandbags were therefore required to provide effective tamping.   The resulting crater was approximately 400mm in diameter and 150mm deep. The EOD Team along with the DIAG members present conducted a visual clearance of 30m around the explosion site and no damage was visible.

Conclusion

9. It is assessed that with all the precautions taken by the EOD Team Leader and the small amount of explosives used, it is considered highly unlikely that this UXO disposal could have inflicted any damage to the surrounding area other than the crater mentioned above.

LT
EOD TEAM LEADER