Two people died and two others sustained serious injuries in separate incidents in Tbong Khnum and Oddar Meanchey provinces after unexploded ordnance (UXO) leftover from the war exploded on April 21.
Director-general of the Cambodian Mine Action Centre (CMAC) Heng Ratana said on April 22 that at noon on April 21 in Trapeang Pring commune’s Trapeang Pring village in Tbong Khmum province’s Dombae district, a 78-year-old man named Be Kuoy and his two companions picked up the UXO.
He said that while they were tampering with the bomb, it exploded, seriously injuring the three of them. Relatives rushed them to a provincial hospital. But because of serious injuries,12-year-old Poeurn Pov died on the way to hospital. A 29-year-old man named Muth Samnang sustained a serious injury to his right hand and was rushed to hospital in Kampong Cham province. Kuoy sustained a minor injury, so he was rushed to the referral hospital in the district.
“They picked up a buried bomb when the land was ploughed and tried to remove the explosives when it detonated,” according to a police report.
In a separate incident on the same day at 14:30, another UXO exploded, leaving one person dead in Oddar Meanchey province.
According to a report from authorities, a man named Saun Savoeurn, 53, was tampering with an UXO when it exploded at his plantation cottage. He was a resident of Trapeang Toung village, Konkriel commune’s O’ Khmao village in the province’s Samrong district.
The authorities call on all people who find UXO not to touch or tamper with them. They can explode, leaving people injured and disabled. Please report any UXO to local authorities and mine clearance operators to remove the devices.
