CHBAR MON, Cambodia — On Sunday, a burial service was held for twenty soldiers who lost their lives in a massive explosion of ammo stored at an army post in southwest Cambodia. The explosion reportedly caused several injuries and damage to surrounding buildings.
The explosion that occurred at the facility in Kompong Speu province on Saturday afternoon has not been publicly explained, yet there have been no hints that it was intentionally set off.
The Buddhist funeral ritual was conducted by Defense Minister Tea Seiha, who was representing Prime Minister Hun Manet. Other attendees included the victims' family and fellow troops. The wooden coffins were wrapped in flags of Cambodia.
A neighboring villager told The Associated Press on Sunday that he had never heard an explosion this powerful before, which is why he frightened upon hearing the boom.
“When the explosion happened, I was fixing my house with some construction workers,” said Chim Sothea. “Suddenly there was a loud explosion, causing my house to shake and breaking tiles on my roof. They fell down but luckily they didn’t fall inside the house.”
Images displayed soldiers receiving medical attention at a hospital and a number of severely damaged buildings on the facility, including one with its roof blasted off. Additional images displayed neighboring homes with roof gaps.
Col. Youeng Sokhon, an army official on the scene, reported to army leader Gen. Mao Sophan that numerous military vehicles were damaged and that four buildings on the base—three for storage and one for a work facility—were destroyed.
Another villager, who asked to be named only as Sophal, said the military closed the road to the base and “villagers were in a panic, seeking a safe place.” He moved his family to his parent’s home, farther away from the base. When he returned to his own house hours later, he found it undamaged but other villagers’ houses had broken windows, doors and roofs, he said.
Like many other nations in the area, Cambodia has been experiencing a protracted heat wave; on Saturday, the province where the explosion occurred had a high of 39 C (102 F). Although high temperatures often do not cause ammunition to explode, they can cause explosives to become less stable over time, increasing the possibility that a single little explosion might start a fire and cause a chain reaction.
At least six persons were killed and widespread fear was sparked by an overnight explosion at an armaments facility in the northwest provincial town of Battambang in March 2005. The explosion occurred during the night.
According to a 2014 research by the Swiss-based organization Small Arms Survey, there were over 500 unintended explosive occurrences at munitions facilities between 1979 and 2013, highlighting the risks associated with improperly kept or handled weapons and referring to it as a "global problem."
