Two children and a woman were seriously injured yesterday when they stepped on a landmine near a border patrol station in Banteay Meanchey, police said.

Chea Chhloung, Svay Chek district police chief, said the woman, Chhay Arn, 28, lost her left leg in the explosion.

“This area is full of mines.… Information about the mines has been distributed by CMAC [the Cambodian Mine Action Centre] for many years, but many people are still not aware of the dangers,” he said. “So there’s always a chance that this type of thing will happen.”

Arn is the two children’s aunt, and the three were collecting leaves and red ants when they stepped on the mine in Svay Chek district, Chhloung said.

The children were also seriously injured, he added, without giving details.

In 2013, six people were killed or injured by a land mine in the province, a figure that fell from 17 the year before.

Yesterday’s incident occurred only 400 metres from the Thai border in an area where demining was postponed in 2011.

“I heard that they plan to continue demining,” said Sorn Bunchhoeurt, a CMAC mine injury data manager.

“But I don’t know whether it will be this year,” Bunchhoeurt said.