Four civilians killed as minibus hits landmine in eastern Ukraine
Xinhua, February 10, 2016 Adjust font size:
Four civilians were killed and another one was severely injured when a minibus hit a landmine in Ukraine's troubled eastern Donetsk region on Wednesday, authorities said.
The accident happened at around 8:00 a.m. local time (0500 GMT) when the minibus carrying five people struck a landmine planted on the roadside as the driver was trying to bypass a queue of cars travelling towards a government-controlled checkpoint, said the press service of the government military operation.
The fatal accident left two passengers on the bus dead on the spot, one died on the way to hospital and two others survived the accident, it said in a statement.
The explosion also injured two passers-by. One of them later died from wounds in a hospital and the other remained in intensive care.
About 30,000 square kilometers of battlefields in eastern Ukraine are littered with explosive devices following almost two years of fighting between government troops and pro-independence insurgents.
The Ukrainian government has repeatedly called on people living in the restive areas to avoid walking and driving on the roadsides and crop fields there, but landmine accidents still occur every month.
On Feb. 3, Ukraine appealed to the international community for technical advice and help to clear the landmines, while launching a public awareness campaign among civilians on how to deal with explosives. Endi