A nine-year-old Bangladeshi child was killed in a mortar shell explosion after the abandoned ordnance near the Myanmar border in Naikhongchhari upazila of Bandarban today (2 June).
The incident occurred at around 1:30pm in the Baishphari border area in Ghumdhum union.
The deceased was identified as Suminaiang Tanchangya, son of Kinghla Tanchangya of Baishphari Tanchangya Para.
Confirming the incident, Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) Ramu Sector Commander Colonel Mohiuddin Ahmed said a Bangladeshi child was killed in an explosion involving an abandoned mortar shell near the Ghumdhum border.
“With assistance from local residents, BGB members recovered the body,” he said.
However, Naikhongchhari Police Station Officer-in-Charge (OC) Mozammel Haque said the child died while working in a jhum field (hilly cultivation area) near the Myanmar border.
“The exact cause of death is not known yet. The body has been recovered. Further details will be provided later,” the OC added.
According to locals, the child had gone to work in a jhum field with his mother in the morning. At around noon, he found an abandoned mortar shell near the border fence adjacent to the cultivation area.
He later took the shell to a nearby jhum hut and began playing with it. The shell suddenly exploded, killing him on the spot.
Members of the BGB and police later recovered the body.
