An anti-tank mine explosion in Battambang’s Ratanak Mondol district killed six people and injured two others on Sunday.

Leang Vuthy, bureau chief of the district’s police statistics office, said a truck with an attached plough was carrying farmers back from a trip to market when it hit the mine, causing the explosion.

“Parts of their bodies were scattered 30 metres from the area, and some of the parts were hanging from the branches of a tree,” Vuthy said.

“The incident is one of the biggest tragedies to have ever occurred [in this area].”

The six dead, aged 17 to 25, were three women and three brothers. The brothers’ father, 57, and a 17-year-old woman had been injured, Vuthy said.

Five of the victims died instantly, and the sixth died on arrival at a Battambang hospital.

According to Heng Ratana, director-general of the Cambodian Mine Action Centre, Battambang is a high-risk area for anti-tank mines.

“They are found in strategic areas with fighting between government forces and the Khmer Rouge,” he said.

The Cambodia Mine Victims Information System has reported 20 mine and UXO casualties in Battambang province between January and August of this year, the highest number for any province.

Chhiv Lim, project manager for CMVIS, said the explosion was one of the largest this year.

To contact the reporter on this story: Kim Yuthana at [email protected]

With assistance from Rachel Will