Mine explosions kill two men, injure four in Pursat’s Veal Veng
THREE children and an adult were seriously injured on Wednesday when a mine they were play ing with exploded in Thma Da commune, in Pursat province’s Veal Veng district.
District police deputy chief of staff Soley Mesa told The Post on Thursday the four, aged 10 to 22, were herding cattle when the mine exploded and were rushed to the provincial referral hospital.
“One of the children came across the mine in a rice field and showed it to his peers. Then they threw it to the ground several times for fun until it exploded,” he said.
Thma Da commune police chief Pich Sophoan said on Thursday the v ictims sustained injuries a l l over t heir bodies.
“Their parents are ta king care of them. I asked them what t y pe of mine it was, but they were unsure. The children t hrew it to t he ground three to four times until it exploded,” he said.
The three children – Soy Tola, 15; Soy Kumpheak, 13; and Soy Sinat, 10 – are siblings. The adult was identified as Kuoy Tang y u, 22. All of t hem are children of a soldier at the Cambodian
Thai border checkpoint.
Cambodia Mine Action Centre (CMAC) director-general Heng Ratana declined to comment on Thursday, saying he was in a meeting.
But in his Facebook post on Thursday, he expressed his condolence to t he v ictims’ fa milies.
“I regret t his incident. I urge people not to play with unexploded ordnance. Only experts can determine the [UXO] condition. People have to report to t he aut horities, especia lly CMAC, when coming across wartime unexploded ordnance,” he said.
In a separate case, t wo men died instantly when a mine exploded in the same dist r ict.
“There are a lot of mines in our region as it was formerly a batt lefield. I ca ll on Veal Veng district residents to be cautious while working on t heir farms.
“If they see any unexploded ordnance, they have to inform t he loca l aut horities. They must not touch, burn or play wit h it. Experts will check and destroy it,” Mesa said.
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