Two young boys were killed and a woman left in serious condition after unexploded ordnance (UXO) detonated on Saturday morning in Oddar Meanchey province’s Anlong Veng district, officials said yesterday.

Anlong Veng district governor Yim Phanna said the two boys, who were cousins, died instantly and the mother of one of the boys was sent to the district hospital after sustaining critical injuries.

“The boys found a B40 rocket in the forest near their house, and they followed their mother to tend cows.

“They played with the rocket, but they did not know the rocket was still active,” he said, adding that it then exploded and killed them both at the scene.

He identified the boys as Soun Nai, 12, and his cousin Vin Sokha, 8. Sren Ny, 48, sustained injuries to her legs and chest and was rushed to hospital.

The district governor said that officials in the area frequently tell villagers not to touch any UXO they find.

“There are still weapons in the area where they [victims] were living that have been left since the war.

“It is difficult to work with small kids, because they do not care what we explain to them. That’s why they got in the accident,” he said.

The district governor added that this was the first case of villagers in Anlong Veng being killed or sustaining injuries from UXO this year.

To contact the reporter on this story: Mom Kunthear at [email protected]