Goto main content

The woman who destroys bombs: HI deminer featured on BBC

Explosive weapons
Laos United Kingdom

Humanity & Inclusion’s demining team in Laos was recently featured in Earth’s Natural Wonders on BBC1. You can watch our teams in action below!

Lumngen in a bunker left by a cluster bomb..

Lumngen in a bunker left by a cluster bomb. | © Philippa Poussereau/HI

Humanity & Inclusion’s demining team in Laos recently appeared in the BBC1 series Earth’s Natural Wonders.

Episode 3, "Surviving Against The Odds", features the inspiring story of Lumngen, a mother of two who decided to become a deminer with HI to help protect others from her father’s fate.

 

Watch on Youtube

Lumngen was only a child when her father was injured by a cluster munition while planting his field. "He eventually healed and went on to live for many years. He died of an illness in 2015.” explains Lumngen.

“However, I will never forget what he suffered. My dad’s experience gave me the power to decide to become a deminer." she adds.

During the 1964 to 1973 Indochina conflict, Laos was the scene of extensive ground battles and intensive aerial bombardments. Records indicate that over two million tonnes of bombs were used, including more than 270 million sub-munitions from cluster bombs, and that up to 30% of them failed to explode.

The BBC documentary shows how, decades after the conflict ended, Lumngen and her team risk their lives every day to clear the land.

How to watch

You can watch Earth’s Natural Wonders Episode 3, "Surviving Against The Odds" on BBC iPlayer for a limited period. The part of the episode featuring HI's team is available to view above, or you can watch it on Youtube.

Please share the information with your friends and family!

Support our work

Your gift today could help our demining teams to clear land of landmines and cluster bombs, saving the lives and limbs of innocent civilians.

Please donate today

Date published: 15/03/18

COUNTRIES

Where we work

Read more

Explosive Devices are everywhere
© HI
Explosive weapons Rehabilitation

Explosive Devices are everywhere

Yusuf is 15. He was injured by an exploded ordnance while he was out herding sheep. In Yemen, contamination by explosive ordnance is a constant danger for everyone.

Gloria’s mission, humanitarian demining in Colombia
© T. Mayer / HI
Explosive weapons

Gloria’s mission, humanitarian demining in Colombia

In the lush mountains of San Mateo, the courageous Gloria is helping to remove landmines and bring peace and security to local communities.

"There is a reason landmines were banned. And it hasn’t changed."
© Tom Nicholson / HI
Explosive weapons

"There is a reason landmines were banned. And it hasn’t changed."

On International Mine Awareness Day 2025, George Graham, Chief Executive of Humanity & Inclusion UK, explains why we should be celebrating the lives saved by the Mine Ban Treaty and redoubling our commitment to the fight against mines.

FOLLOW US