Land mines essays

Land mines essays There are many different types of land mines that still exist today,that were planted to kill soilders back in Vietnam and other wars. There are five types of antipersonal mines. Blast mines are the most common. When someone steps on them they explode. Because it has a very large charge it often kills people rather than just injuring them. Fragmentation mines have tripwires which lie a few centimeters above the ground. When someone walks into them, the mine shoots out hundreds of metal fragments at twice the speed of an ordinary bullet. Bounding framentation mine jump into the air when activated, to about the hight of a persons chest before they explode . They kill the person who sets them off and can kill over a wide area. Directional Fragmentation mines shoot out steel balls in one direction at high speed. They are set off by tripwires or remote. Also Scatterable mines do not have to be laid by hand they can be droped by an airplain or by artillery. They land on the ground without exploding and some even set their own tripwires. There are around 110 million land mines in 64 countries still lodged in the ground. Just like today and in Vietnam children pick up or step on the devices while herding animals, or working in the fields or just playing. Since many of the explosives look just like toys, tops, pineapples or butterflies, children are drawn to them. In some areas, children scavenge mines for scrap metal. Limbless and blind children around the world bear witness to the land mines path of destruction. Since 1975, the devices have killed more than one million people. They continue to kill more than 800 victims each month and disable more than 1,000 others. Women and children in Angola account for more than 20,000 amputees. Many of todays land mines, which can remain active for decades, were planted before their youngest victims were born. ...