PHNOM PENH: Twenty Cambodian soldiers have been killed in an ammunition explosion at an army base, Prime Minister Hun Manet said Saturday (Apr 27).
The blast at around 2.45pm (3.45pm, Singapore time) at the army base in Kampong Speu province to the west of the capital also wounded several soldiers, according to the PM, with the army saying that an entire truck of munitions had exploded.
“I am deeply shocked to receive the news of the ammunition explosion incident,” Hun Manet said in a statement on Facebook, expressing his “deepest condolences” to the families of those killed.
It was not immediately clear what had caused the explosion.
Pictures on social media showed a destroyed one-story building wreathed in smoke, with residents of a nearby village also sharing images online of broken windows.
Other images showed what appeared to be civilians with cuts and gashes being treated in hospital.
Munitions accidents are not uncommon in Cambodia, which is awash with ammunition following decades of civil conflict, accidents that are exacerbated by frequently lax safety standards.
