BANGKOK (AP) — More than a dozen rescue and charity groups used excavation machinery on Monday to recover bodies following a massive blast from stored mining explosives in northeastern Myanmar.The explosion occurred Sunday at noon in Kaungtup village, Namhkam township in Shan State near the Chinese border.
The Ta’ang National Liberation Army, the ethnic rebel group that controls the area, said in a statement released on Monday evening that the death toll from the blast has reached 43, including seven children. Previous estimates from rescue workers had ranged from 38 to 45.The group said 112 people, including 25 children, were injured, with 37 in critical condition, raising concerns that the number of fatalities could increase.“Rescue operations and the compilation of casualty figures were still underway,” said the statement.Determining the exact death toll has been complicated because several bodies were blown apart by the force of the explosion.
Many of Myanmar’s resource-rich areas, where most mining operations have been largely unregulated, are controlled by different armed militias engaged in sporadic fighting against the central government to seek greater autonomy. Accidents, such as deadly landslides, are fairly common.
