Thai Soldier Loses Foot to Landmine During Clearance Operation Near Cambodian Border

A Thai soldier lost his left foot after stepping on a landmine during a clearance mission in Ban Nong Chan village, Khok Sung district, Sa Kaeo province, on Wednesday morning. The First Army Area identified the injured soldier as Sgt Maj Udomsak Nuekman, a 44-year-old technical surveyor with the Thailand Mine Action Center. He sustained severe injuries, including the loss of his left foot and shrapnel wounds to his left arm. Sgt Maj Udomsak was admitted to Aranyaprathet Hospital in Aranyaprathet district, Sa Kaeo province, and remains conscious, according to the army. This incident marks the 13th Thai soldier to have lost a limb in a landmine explosion since the border conflict with Cambodia erupted last year. The incident occurred at 11 am in Ban Nong Chan, an area that was heavily contested during last year's hostilities. Thai soldiers have discovered a total of 489 landmines and explosives within an 80,800-square-meter area, with 62,000 square meters cleared so far. The discovered items include 447 PMN anti-personnel mines, 39 MN-79 anti-personnel mines, two POMZ-2 anti-personnel mines, and one unexploded ordnance. Last year, the Thai military reclaimed Ban Nong Chan, a village where Cambodian people had settled for four decades after fleeing the Khmer Rouge conflict and genocide in the late 1970s.