PHNOM PENH– Three Cambodian deminers were killed and one seriously wounded today, after an anti-tank mine exploded, during a demining and explosive ordnance disposal operation, in north-western Preah Vihear province, officials said.
The accident took place at 11:30 a.m. local time, in a remote village in Choam Ksant district, said Heng Ratana, director general of the Cambodian Mine Action Centre, adding that, the victims worked for a non-profit NGO, Cambodian Self Help Demining.
Ly Thuch, first vice president of the Cambodian Mine Action and Victim Assistance Authority (CMAA), said, the anti-tank mine exploded, when the demining experts were trying to defuse it.
“This is a big loss of human resources in the demining sector,” he said. “They had saved many people’s lives from landmines during their lifetime, and we will remember their great courage.”
Thuch said, all the victims were males.
Cambodia is one of the countries worst-affected by mines. An estimated four to six million landmines and other munitions have been left over from three decades of war and internal conflicts that ended in 1998.
Landmines and unexploded ordnance (UXO) explosions, killed 11 people and injured 33 others, in 2021, said a CMAA report, adding that, from 1979 to 2021, landmines and UXO explosions claimed a total of 19,808 lives, and either injured or amputated 45,156 others.
Source: NAM NEWS NETWORK