Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Live Sunday

Norwegian Army Forces Clear Up Mines at Kandahar Airport

Aired January 20, 2002 - 15:35   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL LIN, CNN ANCHOR: U.S. Army troops are settling into their new home in Afghanistan. About 800 members of the Army's 101st Airborne Division could be stationed in southern Afghanistan for some time to come. The unit is not the only international military force in Afghanistan. Actually, there are more than that. Ben Wedeman reports on the life-saving work of Norwegian soldiers near Kandahar.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BEN WEDEMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Inch by tedious inch, a Norwegian mine clearer probes the dust for deadly explosives. One U.S. Marine has already been wounded by a mine. No one at Kandahar Airport is willing to even guess how many mines lie just below the surface here. The Norwegians have been in other hot spots, but they say nothing is like this little corner of Afghanistan.

MAJOR TREGVE ANGER, NORWEGIAN ARMY: Down here, we have mines from many battles, so there are mines from when the Russians were here in Afghanistan, and we have mines from this battle.

WEDEMAN (on camera): The Norwegian unit found more mines like this in a day here at Kandahar Airport than they found in six months in Kosovo.

(voice-over): Their job is a little safer, thanks to these special Israeli-made boots. They may look unwieldy, but the Norwegians swear by them.

LT. HENNING OLSEN, NORWEGIAN ARMY: I trust them. I have been walking, I've been trying them in Kosovo, and I stepped on anti- personnel mines over there, and then stepped on some anti-personnel mines a couple of days ago, so I'm not afraid about walking with these shoes.

WEDEMAN: The boots distribute the wearer's weight, so much so, they showed us, you can walk on an egg without breaking it.

But not all mine clearing is like treading on eggshells. These machines flail the ground to a depth of 25 centimeters, almost 10 inches. The chains will set off any mines. But even with such intense work, say the Norwegians, it will take more than a year to clear the airport of mines.

Ben Wedeman, CNN, Kandahar, Afghanistan. (END VIDEOTAPE)

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com