A landmine killed a deputy police chief who was patrolling in a forest at the Cambodia-Thailand border in Preah Vihear province on Friday, an official said yesterday.

Leang Bunkheang, 48, deputy police chief for the protection of border 793, stationed near Daun Tom temple, died instantly when he triggered a “coconut-sized” mine with his hand while sitting down while on patrol with soldiers in Choam Ksan district, Chea Lay, police chief of the protection of border 793, said.

“The working group who went with him could not save him . . . He was dead at the scene.”  

Saem Pornreay, a Cambodian Mine Action Centre spokesman, said many mines in Preah Vihear had been there more than 30 years and he urged police, soldiers and residents along the border to be careful. Since 1979, 64,000 people have been either killed or maimed by unexploded ordnance in Cambodia, he said.