Cambodia Land Mine Accident Leaves 8 Dead

Eight Cambodian farmers have died and one was critically wounded on Friday after their tractor hit two old anti-tank mines in northwestern Cambodia.

“Seven people died on the spot. One man passed away later in hospital. The driver is in critical condition,” a local chief police told reporters after the blast on a cassava farm in Banteay Meanchey province.

The police chief was unable to give the ages of the victims but they are thought to include at least three teenagers.

“Because of heavy rainfall recently, the land became soft and when they drove across the farm they hit two anti-tank mines stacked on top of each other,” the chief told AFP, adding that the detonated land mine wasn’t the first of its kind found in the area.

Nearly three decades of civil war have left impoverished Cambodia one of the world’s most heavily mined countries.

In 2011, leftover landmines and other unexploded ordnance killed or injured close to 200 people, according to the Cambodian Mine Action Centre (CMAC).

The CMAC, one of four (main) de-mining organizations in the country, estimates that there may be as many as four to six million mines and unexploded ordnances in Cambodia.

Experts estimate that Cambodia will need at least 10 to 20 more years to clear all the mines at their current rate of progress.

via ABC