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One killed, 3 injured in landmine explosion in NW Cambodia

Xinhua, February 3, 2017 Adjust font size:

An old man was killed as three others injured when they attempted to unearth a luxury tree's stump and hit a war-left antipersonnel mine in northwestern Cambodia's Oddor Meanchey province, a local military commander confirmed on Friday.

The accident took place at 5:00 p.m. local time on Thursday in a jungle in Trapaing Prasat district, said the district's military commander, Sun Borann.

"A 65-year-old father was killed immediately, as his 13-year-old son was seriously wounded on his head, and two other men sustained minor injuries in the blast," he told Xinhua.

The victims tried to unearth the luxury tree's stump in order to make tables and chairs and accidentally hit the mine under the ground, Borann said, adding that the area was a former battlefield and landmines had not been cleared from the forest yet.

Cambodia is one of the most landmine-affected countries in the world. An estimated 4 to 6 million landmines and other munitions were left over from nearly three decades of war that ended in 1998.

According to government figures, from 1979 to 2016, landmines and unexploded ordnances had killed 19,748 people and either injured or amputated 44,914 others. Endit