Jakarta: An Australian man and a Cambodian man were killed when a landmine detonated during a military training exercise west of Phnom Penh on Thursday, police say.
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Three others were injured, including a second Australian, though his injuries are said not to be serious. He has been treated at a hospital in Phnom Penh and is able to walk.
The Australians were military trainers according to police in Kampong Speu, 50 kilometres from Phnom Penh.
Their names have not yet been released.
A report on the deaths by Cambodian Lieutenant General Lanh Ko, seen by Fairfax Media, states that the two Australian nationals were "skilled experts in clearing landmines," and that the incident had taken place at 1.30pm local time on Thursday.
The two Australian and three Cambodian soldiers "went to a shooting range, where many kinds of unexploded ordnance remain.
"When they saw an unexploded ordnance, they picked it up by hand, then it exploded," the General wrote to the commander-in-chief of the Royal Cambodian Armed Forces.
"There were five casualties, two persons were seriously injured, and other three men were slightly wounded. They were sent to Kampong Speu Referral Hospital. Two of them died due to serious injuries."
"The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade is providing consular assistance to the family of an Australian man killed in Kampong Speu Province and to an Australian man injured in the same province," a department spokesperson said.
"Due to privacy obligations we are unable to provide further information."
Police said the mine detonated at a tank base after a Cambodian soldier, who was killed in the incident, picked up the war-era bomb after it had been detected under the ground.
Cambodia is littered with unexploded ordnance (UXOs), a legacy of three decades of civil war. However, casualty figures have steadily come down over the past two decades thanks to an international effort to rid the country of the blight.
A doctor at the Kampong Speu Hospital, Song Sokvisal, told Fairfax Media an Australian man had arrived at the hospital with serious injuries to his face, neck and arms.
"His condition was serious. He was in a state of hopeless[ness]. We tried our best, but we could not save him. It happened too fast," Dr Sokvisal said.
It's understood the dead Australian man was 40 and that his body has been viewed by Australian officials in Phnom Penh. The injured Australian man is said to be 39.
Fairfax Media is yet to confirm the identities of either man.
The army was investigating the blast, said defence ministry spokesman Chhum Sucheat.
The Australian embassy in Phnom Penh did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
with Reuters and AAP
