2 toddlers killed after decades old grenade explodes at their home

Two 2-year-old cousins ​​were killed by a grenade that was detonated in a rural region in Cambodia that was previously plagued by conflict.

The decades old explosive killed toddlers, a boy and a girl, on Saturday February 22, after it blasted near their home in northwestern Cambodia, head of Cambodian mining action center (CMAC) said in a Facebook mail later that day.

The incident occurred in Kranhuong, a village in the Siem Reap Province Svay Leu district, said CMAC Director Heng Ratana in the post, which was originally attached to the Cambodian language in Khmer.

According to an eyewitness, one of the toddler fathers both saw playing when the unexploded grenade, believed to be over 25 years old, detonated, said Ratana.

One of the children died on the spot, and the other was later pronounced dead at the hospital, he added.

The Associated Press identified the girl as muo lisa and boy like thum yen. The outlet said that the 2-year-olds were not only cousins ​​but also neighbors on the country village.

Toddlers’ parents did agricultural work when the children encountered the explosive, the AP reported.

By analyzing fragments from the blasting, experts from CMAC later decided that the explosive was a rocket -powered grenade, AP said. Ratana also shared images of the fragments, as well as images of CMAC Deminers that investigate the site of the deadly explosion.

Cambodian Mine Action Center did not immediately respond to people’s request for comment on Sunday 23 February.

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In the Svay Leu district, the site of the deadly blast, there was a previous heavy conflict between the Cambodian government and the rebel guerrillas from Khmer Rouge, according to AP.

Explosive substances that have left since the fighting, which occurred in the 1980s and 1990s, are particularly dangerous because when deteriorated, the content becomes fleeting, the AP reported.

The outlet also said that an estimated 4 to 6 million soil mines and other undisturbed explosives are on Cambodia’s landscape.

Many people – including Muo Lisa and Thum Yen’s families – are often aware of this remaining danger, according to Ratana.

“Their parents went to settle on land that was a previous battlefield, and they were not aware that there were any land mines or unexploded regulations buried near their homes,” CMAC director said in a statement obtained by AP.

“It’s a shame,” he continued, “because they were too young and they should not have died like this.”