Victims of ERW blast in Minbya transferred to Sittwe Hospital with severe injuries

By DMG 08 May 2021

DMG Newsroom
8 May 2021, Sittwe

Three people who were severely injured on May 7 when a piece of unexploded ordnance blew up in Sabahta village, in Arakan State’s Minbya Township, were transferred from Minbya Hospital to Sittwe General Hospital on Saturday.

U Aung Kyaw Nyunt, 45, U Tin Hlaing, 40, and Daw Hla Tin Nu, 70, were injured when the unexploded ordnance, brought by a villager from the forest on a nearby mountain, went off before it could be discarded into the village creek on Friday afternoon.

U Tin Hlaing carried the bomb with him for much of the day but dropped it while at his home, according to U Kyaw Zaw, the younger brother of U Aung Kyaw Nyunt.

“My elder brother and Ko Tin Hlaing were going to the village creek to discard it.

However, Ko Tin Hlaing entered his home to drink water and it dropped from his pocket and exploded. So, his mother was also injured,” he said.

The three victims sustained severe injuries to their legs and elsewhere, and they were emergency transferred to Sittwe General Hospital, family members said.

Villagers said the Tatmadaw and Arakan Army (AA) previously fought on the mountain near Sabahta village and explosive remnants of war (ERW) are frequently discovered in the area.

On January 10, an ERW exploded in the village, killing a 45-year-old woman and wounding nine others.

The Tatmadaw and AA fought for nearly two years in Arakan State, with scores of civilians killed or injured in landmine encounters, artillery shellings and stray gunfire, according to figures compiled by DMG.