Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet reported on Saturday ( Apr 27 ) that 20 soldiers were killed in an ammunition explosion at an army base.
According to the PM, several soldiers were also hurt by the explosion at the army base in Kampong Speu province at around 2.45 p.m. ( 3.45 p.m., Singapore time ), with the army reporting that a truck full of ammunition had exploded.
” I am greatly shocked to receive the information of the weapons blast incident”, Hun Manet said in a statement on Facebook, expressing his “deepest apologies” to the people of those killed.
What had caused the explosion was n’t immediately known.
Residents of a local village even shared images of broken windows online, along with a ruined one-story building that was covered in smoke.
What appeared to be residents with cuts and scars being treated in hospitals were depicted in different pictures.
Munitions accidents are not remarkable in Cambodia, which has been plagued by civil war for decades, and these accidents are often compounded by weak safety standards.