Three children were killed and 25 more were injured when a bomb exploded in the compound of a primary school in Dawei during lunchtime on the second day of the new school year, residents of the city in Tanintharyi Region said.
The children who were killed or injured by the blast on Tuesday were between seven and 10 years old.
The bomb exploded when a third-grade student stepped on it while he and other students were tidying up their school’s compound, a resident of the town said.
“The teacher told children to remove tall grass in the school compound. A child stepped on a bomb and it exploded. A 3rd grader was killed immediately, and two other students died in hospital,” the resident said.
Other primary school students sustained severe facial injuries or had to have limbs amputated, the Dawei resident added.
Dawei residents said they think the bomb had been left at the school during a clash between junta and resistance troops at a nearby checkpoint on May 13. The clash occurred within walking distance of the school, they said.
One resident said unexploded ordinance had been left behind in the ward after the May 13 clash and that some shells had sunk into the ground due to recent rains.
“There are unexploded shells in the ward. Authorities should have checked [the school’s compound] before opening the school,” the resident said, adding: “I was shocked to hear that students were told to remove grass.”
The new school year in Myanmar started on June 3.
