PHNOM PENH, May 6 (NNN-AKP) – A Cambodian Mine Action Centre (CMAC)’s bomb expert team, yesterday, safely removed a war-left unexploded AN-M66 aerial bomb, from the Chaktomuk River in Phnom Penh, capital of Cambodia, a mine clearance chief, said.
CMAC’s director-general, Heng Ratana said, the U.S.-made bomb, weighing 2,000 pounds and containing roughly 1,000 pounds of explosives, was found when workers were cleaning up the riverbed near the Sokha Phnom Penh Hotel, opposite to the Royal Palace.
“CMAC bomb experts closely worked with the Phnom Penh municipal authorities, to transport the bomb to a safe area for CMAC’s experts to take further action,” he said.
“If it was a case of explosion of this AN-M66 bomb, it could cause huge damages to hotels, houses or even the Royal Palace,” Ratana said. “This is one of great luck for Cambodians.”
It was estimated that between 1965 and 1973, the U.S. dropped about 2.7 million tonnes of explosives on 113,716 locations in Cambodia.
Cambodia is one of the countries which badly suffered from mines and unexploded ordnances, as a result of three decades of war and internal conflicts from the mid-1960s until 1998. An estimated four to six million land mines and other munitions were left over from the conflicts.
From 1979 to 2021, a total of 64,964 landmines’ and unexploded ordnances’ casualties were recorded in Cambodia. Of the casualties, 19,808 people were killed and 45,156 others were either injured or amputated. (1 pound equals 0.454 kg)– NNN-AKP
