Gallery: Dive Deep With the Men Clearing Cambodia’s Bombs by Hand
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Divers practice recovering a large inert ordnance using airbags to raise it from the water off the coast of Sihanoukville, Cambodia.
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Leng Channak trains off the coast of Sihanoukville, Cambodia. He wears a “black-out” mask to simulate the zero visibility the will encounter in the rivers and lakes.
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Members of the salvage dive team practice removing a stricken diver from the water in a training exercise off the coast of Sihanoukville, Cambodia.
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Marcel Durocher and Heang Sambo board a boat ahead of a river survey on the Tonlé Sap river. The men use sonar to map the riverbed, identifying sunken boats and potential unidentified. The river moves vast amounts of sediment, covering and uncovering objects beneath the surface of the water and making it difficult to scan.
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The team surfaces a bomb found in a river in Kratie Province, Cambodia.
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A plume of water shoots into the sky after a liquid explosives test at the divers’ training center in Kampong Chhanang Province, Cambodia.
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Heang Sambo collapses during an intense training session on the beach at Sihanoukville, Cambodia.
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Marcel Durocher and Heang Sambo spend up to six hours a day on a boat when on a river survey.
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Mike Nisi and Sok Chenda drag an MK82 bomb up from the river using an inflatable bag and rope.
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Team leader Sok Chenda carries a 105mm round from the banks of the Tonlé Sap river.
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Leng Channak enters the Tonlé Sap river at the location of a French barge thought to contain unexploded ordnance. The barges where sunk by the Khmer Rouge and American Military.
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The team carries their inflatable boat down the banks of the Tonlé Sap river.
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The team carries all the equipment they need between two boats whilst on a mission.
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Team members take part in a mission brief in their dive shop in Kampong Chhanang, Cambodia.
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Members of the salvage dive team share breakfast together before a training exercise. The divers live together in barracks, forming a tight and cohesive team.
