A 14-year-old girl was severely injured after stepping on a landmine while walking through farmland in Battambang’s Samlot district, a provincial demining official said yesterday.

The victim, Soun Sreheang, on Monday sustained severe injuries to one of her legs, which later had to be amputated.

“Her leg was [injured] when she stepped on the mine,” said Pring Panharith, a unit manager for the Cambodian Mine Action Centre in charge of Battambang, Pursat and Pailin provinces, yesterday.

He said CMAC officers took the girl for treatment to a provincial hospital and warned that there were likely more mines in the area where she was injured.

“We have reported that other mines have been found in the same place,” he said. “Our deminers will remove them soon.”

Pring Panharith added that there has been a rise in landmine explosions in Battambang recently because farmers have been expanding their farmland.

This latest casualty follows another injury sustained by a man in Phnom Proek district on Monday when his tractor struck an anti-tank mine, leaving him in critical condition.