Bangkok post Jan 21, 2000Border land mine explosion kills four
Four soldiers were killed and five wounded when
they triggered a land mine near the border with Burma in Ratchaburi province on
Wednesday afternoon. The explosion occurred at about 3pm when a company of the Surasee Task Force
was moving towards a hill near Khao Krachom Pass in Suan Phung district, where
an unidentified foreign force was reported to have crossed the border into
Thailand. Army spokesman Col Somkhuan Saengpataranet said two soldiers were killed on
the spot and two others died while being evacuated for medical treatment. Five
others were wounded. Killed were Warrant Officer Suk Plakdindaeng, Staff Sgt Anan Chanthin, Pvt
Chucheep Panpothong and Pvt Thuan Chomkhan. Col Somkhuan said it was not known who planted the mine. Early this month, Burmese government forces began a drive against minority
rebels, causing village tribal people, mostly the elderly, women and children,
to flee across the border to Thailand for
safety. |