On September 16, the Steering Committee for searching, repatriating and identifying martyrs' remains of Lao Cai province informed that the work of searching, repatriating and identifying martyrs' remains in the Da Voi hill area, Residential Group 39, Cam Duong ward is still continuing.
To date, 30 sets of martyrs' remains have been found and exhumed.
The Da Voi hill area is identified to have an area to be surveyed of about 4,000m2, but functional forces have only dug and searched on an area of more than 500m2.
The forces are continuing to expand the scope, reviewing locations that may still have remains.
Previously, on the afternoon of September 15, the working delegation of Military Region 2 led by Major General Nguyen Ngoc Ngan, Deputy Head of the Political Department of Military Region 2, inspected the actual work of searching, repatriating and identifying martyrs' remains in this area.
At the scene, the inspection team checked the progress of excavation, search and exhumation procedures; preservation, dossier preparation and collection of samples for DNA testing.
Major General Nguyen Ngoc Ngan requested the forces to continue to closely coordinate, perform tasks in accordance with procedures, ensure safety and caution in each stage, and not miss traces. At the same time, complete dossiers and collect samples to serve the identification of martyrs.
Reporters recorded at the scene, the soil was peeled layer by layer. Each trace and artifact appearing during the search was checked, collected and carefully preserved.
The work took place quietly in the hill area, with high concentration of officers and soldiers.
From September 3rd to September 13th, functional forces discovered 28 graves with remains, buried horizontally, about 2.5-3m apart, at a depth of about 1.2m.
Previously, in mid-August, two graves were also exhumed in this area.
According to the account of some witnesses, on February 25, 1979, a fierce battle occurred at Da Voi hill, many officers and soldiers sacrificed.
After the enemy withdrew, the unit organized the collection and burial of the fallen soldiers in this area.
Information from witnesses became clues for functional forces to continue searching after decades.
Currently, search and repatriation work is still being deployed.
Along with the search, the forces carried out preservation, dossier preparation and collection of samples for DNA testing, with the aim of identifying and bringing the martyrs back to their families, comrades and homeland.
Some images recorded on the afternoon of September 15th:
