An old rocket seriously injured at least eight people when it exploded in Pursat province yesterday, after a child found the missile and used it as a toy with a relative in his village.

Three women, three men and two children – all related – are being treated at the provincial hospital after the child took the unexploded ordnance (UXO) to the family’s Stung Thmey village home, in Pursat’s Veal Veng district, said district police chief Thea Leng.

“The children were playing under the house when it exploded,” Leng said. “The blast was extremely loud and shocked neighbouring villagers.”

Data from the Cambodian Mine Action Center showed that 89 people were killed by landmines and UXO in the first six months of this year.

Most landmine and UXO deaths occur in the Kingdom’s northwestern provinces, where defeated Khmer Rouge cadres fought the government during civil war in the 1980s and 1990s.