A 31-year-old man was killed on Monday when part of an illegally dug gold mine collapsed in Battambang’s Phnom Proek district, commune officials said yesterday.

Bon Boern, 31, died at the scene, while Ath Kri, 21, was treated at the provincial hospital for a head injury, Phnom Proek commune police chief Phat San told the Post yesterday.

“The land collapsed on [Boern], who was in five metres deep,” San said, adding that the three men were digging independently and were not affiliated with any legal mining companies.

The third individual involved in the operation reported the incident to authorities, San said, adding that all three had been mining the area illegally.

Cher Cheang, provincial director of Battambang’s mines and energy department, said yesterday that the type of mining the three men had been doing was risky but common.

“Most of the families in Battambang [mine illegally]. They do not have any [technical] training,” Cheang said.