Specialist divers from the Cambodian Mine Action Centre recovered a 227-kilo American-made Mk-82 bomb from a quarry in Kampong Speu province yesterday.

Mike Nisi, chief of underwater operations at the Golden West Humanitarian Foundation, which trained the divers, said people at the quarry had apparently removed the bomb from a pond in recent days and placed it on a nearby ledge.

“Then the rains came and the bomb fell down about 10 metres and back into the water and ended up at the bottom of the pond,” he said. “We went out there today and did a search with metal detectors; we had to move some rocks, and then we lifted it up.”

The bomb was transported to GWHF’s recycling facility in Kampong Chhnang province, where the explosives will be removed and turned into small charges used by teams clearing landmines. It is the third such bomb the team has brought to the surface since it began work in May last year.

Government figures show landmines and explosive remnants of war killed 20 people in the first six months of the year – down by more than a quarter from the same period last year.