Vietnamese search teams have recovered 19 additional sets of individual soldiers' remains, one collective burial, and 13 groups of personal artifacts during an ongoing excavation at Le Thi Rieng Park in Ho Chi Minh City.

The latest discoveries, announced by the Ho Chi Minh City High Command on the evening of July 15, bring the total recovered since the operation began to 93 individual sets of remains and two collective burials.

The recovery operation is taking place at Le Thi Rieng Park in Hoa Hung Ward, where authorities believe a wartime mass burial site dating back to the 1968 Tet Offensive was located.

According to reporters at the scene, many of the newly discovered remains were found behind the memorial dedicated to revolutionary martyr Le Thi Rieng, martyr Tran Van Kieu, and other fallen soldiers.

After more than one week of excavation, the search trench has expanded significantly. It now stretches approximately 40 meters, extending from the pathway beside the park's lake to the area surrounding the memorial monument.

Search teams excavated more than 50 cubic meters of soil during the latest day's operation.

Officials from the DNA sampling team said many of the newly recovered remains are relatively well preserved, a development they described as encouraging for future forensic identification efforts.

The teams will continue expanding the excavation area on July 16.

Among the latest discoveries were 13 sets of personal artifacts recovered alongside the remains, which may help investigators identify some of the fallen soldiers.

Search follows months of historical investigation

The excavation is part of Vietnam's nationwide campaign to locate, recover and identify missing martyrs.

The operation at Le Thi Rieng Park follows several months of historical research and witness verification.

On May 28, the Ho Chi Minh City High Command appealed for information from surviving witnesses who appeared in a historical photograph believed to show the burial of soldiers sacrificed on February 12, 1968.

On June 8, the National Steering Committee 515 convened a scientific workshop to verify evidence indicating that a wartime collective burial site was located at the former Chi Hoa–Cho Quan Cemetery, now occupied by Le Thi Rieng Park. Excavation officially began on July 6.

Since then, search teams have recovered 93 individual sets of remains, two collective burials, and numerous personal artifacts.

Among those recovered so far, only one individual - Huynh Van Quen - has been provisionally identified based on a combination of his full name, accompanying personal belongings, and military unit information. Authorities expect DNA analysis and further forensic examination to assist in identifying additional soldiers.

Phuoc Sang - Nguyen Hue