Seven Cambodians were injured by an explosion of the anti-tank mine while the truck, carrying them to work in a rubber plantation, ran over the landmine on Tuesday afternoon, a local military officer said.

So Vannareth, a military officer in Svay Chek district, said by telephone that the accident happened at 3 p.m. (local time) on Tuesday. The seven wounded persons included four women and three men including the driver.

All are at the ages between 17 and 27.

The explosion happened when a Korea-made truck ran over an anti- tank mine that was buried under the ground for many years in the wartime in Slor Kram Commune, Svay Chek district in Banteay Meanchey province, about 400 kilometers Northwest of Phnom Penh.

He said the truck always carried the rubber workers back and forth in the area for many years, and it had never had such accident.

So Vannareth said the heavy downpour of rain over the past few days in the area has damaged the road and led the truck to hit the mine.

Cambodia is one of most mine affected nations in the world as the result of 30 years of armed conflict. Mines had been laid in Cambodia during the decades of chronic conflicts from the late 1960s to the mid-1990s.

Cambodia's five most mine-laid provinces are Battambang, Banteay Meanchey, Oddar Meanchey, Pailin and Preah Vihear.

The government says it needs another 10 years with an estimated expense of about 350 million U.S. dollars to get rid of all landmines from the country.

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