Future Cambodian Casino Area Deminers Die in Explosion
10 May 2006
Five Cambodian soldiers working as freelance deminers in the northern border province of Oddar Meanchey, which is located 200 miles northwest of the capital, Phnom Penh, were recently killed by an anti-tank mine explosion. The soldiers' job was to remove land mines from an area in which a casino facility is slated for opening.
Pech Sokhen, governor of Oddar Meanchey province, was reported as saying that one of the deminers survived the fatal incident, but lost his leg due to the powerful blast. According to Sokhen, the victims were hired by the landowner to clear mines in order to allow the development of a casino and hotel resort in the area.
Mine clearing teams have removed an estimated 1.6 million land mines in Cambodia in the past ten years, but those still remaining are responsible for hundreds of deaths every year. Several weeks ago, 10 rice field workers were killed when their truck drove over an anti-tank mine in Oddar Meanchey. A similar blast killed 13 villagers in November, 2005.
Source: Authorized Online Casinos News Staff
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