Villagers in Kandal find unexploded ordnance

TWO unexploded Mk 82 bombs, legacies of the US bombing of Cambodia in the 1970s, were unearthed on Sunday in a hole in Kandal province’s Kandal Stung district, according to a police official.

Men Navin, head of explosives management at the Kandal provincial police station, said that the bombs weigh up to 227 kilograms each.

Kruoch Seuch villagers found the unexploded ordnance in a hole in their village in Doeum Reus commune on Sunday morning while they were excavating soil to sell.

“Under the cooperation with the Cambodian Mine Action Centre on Sunday afternoon, the experts disarmed the bombs successfully and brought them to the CMAC training centre in Kampong Chhnang province for later detonation,” Navin confirmed.

On its website on Sunday, CMAC warned villagers in Doeum Reus commune to use caution when digging ponds, developing irrigation systems or doing heavy construction.

The organisation said that the Mk 82 bombs were found buried 6 metres under the ground.

According to Navin, Kandal provincial police have worked with experts from CMAC to disarm eight bombs in Sa’ang, Kien Svay and Kandal Stung districts so far this year.

Also on Sunday, local authorities reported a mine explosion in Battambang province that destroyed one farmer’s tractor in Kampong Kol village, in Banan district’s Cheng Meanchey commune. The tractor driver was not hurt, authorities said.