All week we've been reporting on the bomb that exploded and killed a father of one on Saturday in Nuevo San Jose Palmar. But what 25 year old Jose Valencia's death has uncovered is that there's a lot of these bombs lying around Orange Walk - in the bush, and in homes and yards.
While there's enough blame to go around for that, in our reporting on this story, no single authority has stated authoritatively where the bombs came from. And tonight archival footage from the British military shared with 7News shows exactly where they may have originated. Courtney Menzies has this story.
This is the type of military bomb that killed 25 year old Jose Valencia - a father and sole custodian of his 2 year old daughter.
Almost one week ago, Valencia was welding hooks into an MK1 aircraft bomb that belonged to his employer, Dave Burgos, in Nuevo San Jose Palmar. It was then that the bomb - believed to be inert - exploded, ripping Valencia away from little "Valencita", as she was affectionately called at his workplace.
But who's to blame for the bomb left behind that took his life? Burgos said it's the British.
Dave Burgos, Employer
"The British were the ones who left this all over the place and people don't know and these are all over the place. Homes, we're talking about these things are in homes, many, many, many, many people have them, right."
Many indeed, since the explosion that shook Palmar, Orange Walk residents have been calling the BDF to recover these bombs that were being held as keepsakes or scrap metal. Many of them were left scattered near the New River Training Ground, adjacent to the village.
Experts tell us those MK1 training bombs - like this one, painted blue - were loaded onto Harrier fighter jets and used for training.
This is archival British training video taken in Belize of a Harrier performing a training bomb run.
However, the CEO in the Ministry of Defense wouldn't confirm the bong belonged to the British forces.
Francis Usher, CEO, Ministry of Defense
"Various different forces use the New River Training area. We are doing a serial number check with the remaining 2 thousand pound bombs."
"At this point I wouldn't want to speculate or say definitively. It is most likely British, but I wouldn't want to speculate and say for sure that it is."
Jose Mai, Area Representative Orange Walk South
"I think it is irresponsible to leave bombs in a country that you used to practice. It is irresponsible. It is like you go to a firing range to practice your shooting and leave your rifle and rounds thrown in the field. I think something needs to be done about that, definitely because it is going to happen again."
Jules Vasquez
"Was it disrespectful or indisciplined for them to leave these bombs behind when they still have at least a spotting charge in them?"
Francis Usher, CEO, Ministry of Defense
"You have to recall that this was like I said an active training area so until the training area has been fully decommissioned or anything like that, irresponsible is a harsh term."
And with many of these bombs left abandoned so many years ago, Orange Walk residents have taken to collecting them as souvenirs. But Usher stresses, they're classified as "dangerous goods" for a reason:
Francis Usher, CEO, Ministry of Defense
"So first of all, these are dangerous goods. If you find them, if you have them in your possession, please call the Belize Defense Force so we can have the subject matter experts, the explosive ordnance disposal team to go there and to safely disarm it and remove it from the location."
"I know it's as you referred to it, Mr Vasquez, a machismo thing to have in your house. It's not. It's a foolish thing. Please call us so we can safely dispose of them."
Usher is hoping to prevent another incident like the one that befell Valencia. And though death is the worst possible outcome, property damage is also a possibility. Valencia's sister described what she felt after the bomb detonated.
Voice of: Sarai Valencia, Little Sister of Deceased
"It was here everything trembled the house, the zinc everything, everything it felt terrible it was just a bad feeling, a terrible feeling."
Even the windows on Burgos' home shattered, injuring his wife. After the incident, he explained he felt ashamed and full of regret, since he wanted to use the bomb as an ornament, which is why Valencia was welding the hooks into it.
But Burgos added that he will do right by little Valencita since she has now lost the only parent in her life.
Dave Burgos, Employer
"We will work for Valencita, have something for her, you know, for her future."
We'll keep following the story.
