PHNOM PENH, Cambodia (AP) - Three villagers, including a 10-year-old boy, were killed in an anti-tank mine explosion in northwestern Cambodia, police said Wednesday.
The villagers were riding on a tractor when it rolled over the land mine in Battambang province's Bavel district Monday, said Ou Prieng, the district police chief.
The three villagers were returning from collecting firewood for sale when their vehicle hit the mine. They died instantly in the blast, he said.
He identified the victims as Leng Chen, 48, Chen Ros, 10, and Nhanh Kong, 28, the truck driver. Leng Chen was the father of Chen Ros.
The area remains littered with land mines left over from Cambodia's civil war that ended eight years ago.
An estimated 4-6 million mines and other pieces of unexploded ordnance remain buried in Cambodia from more than three decades of armed conflict.
The Cambodian Red Cross said 418 people were killed or maimed by mines last year.
Seven mine-clearers from the government's land mine removal agency, Cambodian Mine Action Center, were killed while trying to clear a mine field in Battambang province in January.
Battambang is about 250 kilometers (155 miles) northwest of the capital Phnom Penh.
The villagers were riding on a tractor when it rolled over the land mine in Battambang province's Bavel district Monday, said Ou Prieng, the district police chief.
The three villagers were returning from collecting firewood for sale when their vehicle hit the mine. They died instantly in the blast, he said.
He identified the victims as Leng Chen, 48, Chen Ros, 10, and Nhanh Kong, 28, the truck driver. Leng Chen was the father of Chen Ros.
The area remains littered with land mines left over from Cambodia's civil war that ended eight years ago.
An estimated 4-6 million mines and other pieces of unexploded ordnance remain buried in Cambodia from more than three decades of armed conflict.
The Cambodian Red Cross said 418 people were killed or maimed by mines last year.
Seven mine-clearers from the government's land mine removal agency, Cambodian Mine Action Center, were killed while trying to clear a mine field in Battambang province in January.
Battambang is about 250 kilometers (155 miles) northwest of the capital Phnom Penh.
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