One person was killed and nine others injured in an explosion after a man poured heated metal into a 105mm shell in Prey Touch village in Tbong Khmum province’s Tbong Khmum district on Monday.
Suos Seangly, Tbong Khmum district police chief, told The Post on Monday that a man identified as Van Kea, 26, was killed in the incident.
The man who caused the explosion, Mat Sos, a 60-year-old Cambodian Muslim, was wounded. All 10 victims resided in Chiror I commune’s Prey Touch village.
Prang Sophon, Chiror I commune police chief, told The Post on Monday that the explosion killed one man, while nine others were lightly wounded to the legs, arms and other parts of their bodies. All the wounded were taken to Tbong Khmum referral hospital by family members.
“There was no gunpowder inside the shell. It was only an empty shell, but it exploded after the heated metal was poured inside,” he said.
The explosion was caused when Sos buried a 105mm shell, around a metre long, to use to forge metal. The shell exploded after it came in contact with the hot metal.
He said some of the victims were around 15m away from the explosion, while one was inside a house around 150m away.
Keo Sarath, head of the Cambodian Mine Action Centre’s Demining Unit 5, said he talked to villagers at the scene and they told him that there was a hole in the shell and no explosive powder inside, so they buried it in the ground to use it to forge metal, triggering the explosion.
“The 105mm shell has an explosive head on the top. There was no explosive powder inside, but it can explode when it is exposed to heat and there is no hole to emit it,” he said.
Lawyer Sok Sam Oeun told The Post on Monday regarding the incident: “Those who are responsible for such an explosion can be legally held responsible, but the punishment would not be serious because the incident was unintentional,” he said.
