20 Cambodian soldiers killed in explosion at army base’s armaments stockpile given a funeral

A funeral took place on Sunday for 20 soldiers who passed away at an army base in southwestern Cambodia. The soldiers died in a big explosion of stored weapons that also injured some people and caused damage to nearby houses.

No one has said why there was an explosion at the base in Kompong Speu province on Saturday afternoon. It doesn’t seem like it was on purpose.

Defense Minister Tea Seiha, who was in place of Prime Minister Hun Manet, led the Buddhist funeral ceremony. The event was attended by the victims’ family members and other soldiers. Cambodian flags were on top of the wooden boxes.

A person who lives nearby said to The Associated Press on Sunday that he shook with fear when he heard the big blast because he had never heard such a loud explosion before.

Chim Sothea said, “I was repairing my house with some builders when the explosion happened. ” “All of a sudden, there was a big boom that made my house shake and broke some tiles on my roof. ” “They fell, but they didn’t fall into the house. ”

Pictures showed many buildings that were severely damaged at the base. One building had its roof blown off, and soldiers were being treated in a hospital. Other pictures showed houses nearby that had holes in their roofs.

Four buildings at the military base were destroyed and some vehicles were damaged. Army officer Col Youeng Sokhon reported this to army chief Gen Mao Sophan.

Another person from the village, who didn’t want to share their name, said the soldiers blocked the road to the base and the villagers were scared and looking for a safe place. He took his family to his parents’ house, which is further away from the base. When he came back home after a few hours, he saw that his house was okay, but other people in the village had broken windows, doors, and roofs.

Cambodia, along with other nearby countries, has been experiencing very hot weather for a long time. The province where the explosion happened had a high temperature of 39 degrees Celsius (102 degrees Fahrenheit) on Saturday. High temperatures can’t make ammunition explode, but they can make explosives less stable over time. This could lead to a small explosion causing a fire and more explosions.

In March 2005, there was a big explosion at a weapons storage in a small town called Battambang. Many shells and bullets were fired, and at least six people died. People in the town were very scared.

A report in 2014 by a group called Small Arms Survey said it is dangerous when weapons and explosives are not stored or handled properly. They said this is a problem all around the world. The report also said that between 1979 and 2013, there were over 500 times when weapons and explosives accidentally exploded at storage sites.