MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency
Falklands demining season scheduled to begin next Monday
The Falkland Islands is set to begin another demining and ground clearance activity next week at Minefield number 59 at Wall Mountain on East Falkland. Read full article
Comments
Disclaimer & comment rulesAnd Argentina should pick up the bill for the cost of the demining.
Jan 11th, 2015 - 07:48 pm - Link - Report abuse 0But then why would Argentina get involved with an Island that has nothing to do with them.
Jan 11th, 2015 - 08:13 pm - Link - Report abuse 0It's just another reason why the Argentinians should never ever be trusted near the islands.
It wasn't them, it was the Junta.
Jan 11th, 2015 - 08:39 pm - Link - Report abuse 0NOBODY SUPPORTED THE JUNTA.
Except these twats:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_xqwNsmzCbM
Perhaps the government could make more money available to employ more people to remove these evil things quicker.
Jan 12th, 2015 - 12:36 am - Link - Report abuse 0The UK did not put any land mine during the conflict??? Are you sure? I read they did, booby traps too. And UK had even agreed with Argentine to demine the islands but then rejected it.
Jan 12th, 2015 - 10:23 am - Link - Report abuse 0The only legacy Argentina left from its failed invasion of our country....minefields, and lots of them. It is an expensive business, but in time they will all be cleared.
Jan 12th, 2015 - 10:56 am - Link - Report abuse 0Hope you are proud of your achievements. Meanwhile Falkland Islanders with support from the UK have turned this into a thriving economically self sufficient community. Not that is real achievement.
“Bactec have a total staff of 69 in the Islands with many of the de-miners returning to work for the second and third time.”
Jan 12th, 2015 - 11:31 am - Link - Report abuse 0You have got to admire these guys, they must have balls of solid rock. These mines are over 30 years old now so who knows what sort of state they are in.
Coming back to clear them again and again -whistles- Good on you guys!!!
@ 5 I have read somewhere that the British did use mines and accounted for all but ONE of them. It was Argentina that set booby traps, even after surrendering they tried encouraging British helicopters to land on booby trapped/mined landing sites. A nice bunch.
Jan 12th, 2015 - 12:02 pm - Link - Report abuse 0@5
Jan 12th, 2015 - 12:54 pm - Link - Report abuse 0God you Argies are so stupid, the UK was ATTACKING your invasion force not DEFENDING the FALKLNDS, why on earth would anyone mine areas if they were ATTACKING, Jesus we have no Argie that can debate.
Does anybody on the Islands know what Bactec's methods are? I've seen a mine clearance vehicle consisting of an armoured 'tractor' with a flail. Anybody know why it wouldn't work?
Jan 12th, 2015 - 04:36 pm - Link - Report abuse 0http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aardvark_JSFU
Since the Argies are out of jobs, maybe FIG could employ about 100 of them to run up and down the mined areas until no more mines explode...the survivors will be given a ham & cheese sandwich and be allowed to go home.
Jan 12th, 2015 - 04:39 pm - Link - Report abuse 0@10 Conqueror
Jan 12th, 2015 - 05:49 pm - Link - Report abuse 0The ground is far too soft for that type of mine clearance vehicle, and after 33 years they are probably sunk quite deep.
There aren't fast ways of clearing mines, even in the UK the odd one from WW2 pops up every so often, so the best way is slow and steady to make sure that you don't miss any. A problem made worse by the fact that the Argentines didn't bother marking their locations is the 1st place.
Is it possible to invite paulcedron to the start of this process?
Jan 12th, 2015 - 07:38 pm - Link - Report abuse 0Alejomartinez - the usual crapp from another troll,
these argy trolls should walk the minefields in front of those brave men,
Jan 12th, 2015 - 07:58 pm - Link - Report abuse 0the least they could do..
Conq- a very slow laborious process- very delicate detectors that can detect in top 6-8 inches.
Jan 12th, 2015 - 08:50 pm - Link - Report abuse 0Nothing found - then hand tool clear off that layer of 4-5 inches and start all over again - mostly using small hand garden type tools.
Carefully marking the areas with tape etc all the time.
max work time without a break I think is 25 mins - otherwise your concentration can wander - and potentially - boom- end of deminer.
Those Zimbabweans deserve every pound they earn -in our climate out exposed on open ground. Incidentally several of the earlier teams guys have found jobs here afterwards and returned and are now settled here with family and good members of the local community.
@ 5 Alejomartinez
Jan 12th, 2015 - 09:13 pm - Link - Report abuse 0**exactly** where did you read that the British troops laid mines during their forward movement in 1982?
@16 He read it in ''Los Chicos Propio Libro de la Gran Victoria Malvinas' published by Casa Rosada Press.
Jan 13th, 2015 - 01:39 am - Link - Report abuse 0@17 Frank
Jan 13th, 2015 - 12:03 pm - Link - Report abuse 0“ He read it in ''Los Chicos Propio Libro de la Gran Victoria Malvinas' published by Casa Rosada Press.”
As I am a little lazy in ordering this literary masterpiece, does it mention how many times HMS Hermes was sunk as I believe our top secret salvaging service raised her from the sea bed several tines?
Does it also mention the 'Super Gauchos, that Korned Beef Kate promised would be sent to the Falklands to counter the Ghurkas?
@18 Pete Bog
Jan 13th, 2015 - 04:42 pm - Link - Report abuse 0Korned Beef Kate! Now that's a blast from the past, I'd forgotten about her. I wonder if she's TTT's mother and sister? ;p
@5 : Alejandromartinez :You have probably heard the British used mines , poison gas , dum dum bullets , napalm , aeroplanes , submarines , satellites , foreign mercenaries , black magic , white magic , nuclear weapons , unsinkable aircraft carriers , spells , potions , flying saucers and that Maggie Thatcher put a curse on Galtieri .
Jan 13th, 2015 - 05:46 pm - Link - Report abuse 0This doesn't mean it's true OK ?
Grown ups do lie , or exagerate stories to suit their purpose .
Cristina and her government are a very good example .
@5 Alejandromartinez
Jan 13th, 2015 - 06:47 pm - Link - Report abuse 0I have to agree with UP @20.
Its obvious that you know NOTHING about strategy and warfare, so let me give you a little lesson.
Mines (whether antipersonnel or vehicle) are a defensive weapon only, designed to deny territory to the enemy. They are an indiscriminate weapon that will kill enemy combatants, friendly forces and innocent bystanders with the same gusto.
The ONLY reason therefore to deploy mines is to deny territory. So, according to this thing you 'read', the British laid mines to deny territory to whom? The British were invading the Islands from the sea, they needed EVERY bit of land they could to get their men and machines on shore. Mining the area makes NO SENSE. It would be like the Allies mining the Normandy beaches prior to D-Day! Nonsensical.
Yet ALL the mines that have been laid where laid in areas where the Argentine strategists believed the British would land - hence them laying the mines in the 1st place to DENY territory to the British. Now that makes sense.
You are right in one context, the British did use one type of mine in the Falklands - the Claymore. But the Claymore, although designated an antipersonnel 'mine' isn't like other mines at all. It is still a defensive weapon BUT you DO NOT bury it at all. It is a surface weapon that stands above the ground and can be set off either by trip wire or command wire. It, unlike other mines, is a directional mine, so you place it facing the enemy. This means that collateral damage is extremely limited, and is usually used to protect a defensive position or building.
The date that the British used this type of mine was 2 April 1982 AGAINST Argentine invading forces. The British liberation forces didn't use them.
And since this type of mine isn't buried, it would hardly be lying around in the area where your Argentine strategists thought the British would land, would it?
@5
Jan 14th, 2015 - 07:25 am - Link - Report abuse 0You don't leave booby traps when you are winning/advancing.
That is something you do when you are retreating, or in the argentine case, planting them then surrendering.
One of your guys died horribly after Goose Green by the way, - An argentine booby trapped phosphorus round detonated it while he was moving it.
One of our guys shot him dead out of compassion.
Guess your countryman who left it there was hoping one of us would set it off and be burned alive.......
Based on Alejomartinez's (lack of) answer, those must have been the mines, which sank the HMS Hermes before it was sold to the Indian Navy in 1986.
Jan 14th, 2015 - 11:56 am - Link - Report abuse 0@23
Jan 14th, 2015 - 04:47 pm - Link - Report abuse 0It's just as well we had another inflatable one we are able to deploy as a decoy.
@24
Jan 14th, 2015 - 08:12 pm - Link - Report abuse 0I was told by a source, as realiable as Alejomartinez's, that the shipyard had mounted legs under her, so each time she was sunk, she just got on her feet again ,)
@19
Jan 14th, 2015 - 09:42 pm - Link - Report abuse 0One of the hilarious moments of 1982 was when I heard a radio broadcast playing back a Korned Beef Kate special-Argentina's attempt at lord Haw Haw-(perhaps Lady whore whore)? Something along the lines of“ Engleeeesh boys, we mean you no harm, turn back now to save yourselves.”
A mate of mine on the Canberra pissed himself laughing hearing about the Super Gauchos who “ Have longer knives than your Ghurka boys, surrender if you see them, and save yourselves.”
Hope someone somewhere recorded some of these Korned Beef Kate warnings...
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