Figures updated on the evening of July 9 by the team responsible for recovering martyrs' remains under the Ho Chi Minh City Command showed that, as the excavation pit was expanded towards the concrete roadway inside Le Thi Rieng Park, authorities dug a trench two metres deep, five metres long and three metres wide, removing about 50 cubic metres of soil.
As a result, officials discovered five more sets of remains and two sets of artefacts, bringing the total number of remains found at Le Thi Rieng Park to 16. On July 10, the Ho Chi Minh City Command will continue the search for martyrs' remains.
The search for martyrs' remains on July 9 at Le Thi Rieng Park (Photo: Ngoc Tan).
The search and recovery operation at Le Thi Rieng Park was launched following the conclusion of Deputy Prime Minister Pham Thi Thanh Tra at a seminar verifying information about a mass grave of martyrs in the area of the former Do Thanh - Chi Hoa cemetery, now Le Thi Rieng Park.
Earlier, based on witness accounts and historical records, the Ho Chi Minh City Command estimated that hundreds of martyrs killed during the 1968 Tet Offensive and Uprising may have been buried in what is now Le Thi Rieng Park.
During the search on July 6, authorities found seven sets of remains. One of them carried information identifying martyr Huynh Van Quen.
Later, a family in Vam Co Commune, Tay Ninh Province, said the remains belonged to their relative. A working delegation met members of Le's family to verify the related information.
On the morning of July 7, authorities took Huynh Van Nho and Huynh Van Muoi, who said they were younger brothers of martyr Huynh Van Quen, for DNA sampling.