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Today (3rd) morning in Cheorwon, Gangwon-do, there was an accident presumed to be a mine explosion, and an excavator driver who was working to recover from flooding died.
However, the positions of the relevant agencies are divided as to whether the mine detection was done properly in advance or not.
Reporter Kim Bo-mi covered the story.
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One excavator is damaged beyond recognition on the road.
At around 9:40 am today, an object believed to be a landmine exploded on the embankment of a river within the Civilian Control Line in Cheorwon-gun, Gangwon-do.
A 56-year-old male excavator driver was killed in the accident.
In order to restore the embankment that was lost due to torrential rain two years ago, the grass and trees that grew on the river side were first removed, and then the fecal matter occurred.
[Nearby residents: Landmines bang here and there.
So it's a minefield.
It exploded while constructing the embankment, yes.]
The mine that exploded this time is estimated to be an anti-tank mine with a diameter of about 30 cm.
[Kim Ki-ho / Director of the Korea Mine Removal Research Institute: About 10.3 kg of explosives are contained in anti-tank mines.
In terms of TNT (strong explosives), it has a power of about 20 kg.
In the case of a fork crane, it is completely destroyed.
Very explosive...
.]
Regarding this accident, Cheorwon-gun, who ordered this construction, and the military that detected the presence of landmines are at odds.
A Cheorwon-gun official said, "I requested the military to detect mines in advance and was given the result that there were no mines." A military official said, "The accident occurred in an area outside the place where Cheorwon-gun requested mine detection." "It is a dangerous area to enter." He even gave instructions.”
The police plan to call both sides soon to investigate the exact cause of the accident, while also investigating whether Cheorwon-gun violated the Occupational Safety and Health Act.
In Cheorwon, an anti-tank mine exploded in January 2017, and one farmland worker was seriously injured.
(Video coverage: Seo Jin-ho, Video editing: Hwang Ji-young)