Two children killed in explosion in Gangaw Township

Two seven-year-old children were killed when an unexploded ordnance went off while they were playing with it, residents of Kan village, in Gangaw township, Magway region told RFA. 

Residents said Pyae Sone Aung and Min Htut Zaw did not know what the ordnance was. They found it after junta forces left their village on Sunday evening.

One local told RFA the shell suddenly went off while the children were playing with it, killing both of them.

“It was an explosion of a 40 mm bomb,” the resident said. “The children found it and were playing with it by picking it up and throwing it. I think it hit a stone and exploded and killed them.”

Around 74 soldiers from Gangaw township in Magway region and more than 100 soldiers from Kale township in Sagaing region camped near Kan village for two days. Residents believe the ordnance was a 40 mm grenade, left behind by the soldiers from Kale Township.

More than 98 vehicles carrying solders arrived in Gangaw township on June 17, locals told RFA. They were carrying out military scorched-earth operations in villages, including Kan where the blast took place. 

Calls to a military council spokesman by RFA went unanswered on Tuesday.