Rakhine State Couple Killed by Artillery Shell Found in Forest

By Min Aung Khine 28 February 2019

SITTWE, Rakhine State — A couple died in Rakhine State’s Ponnagyun Township on Wednesday when an artillery shell they had found in the forest exploded on their way home.

Ko Maung Oo Tun, 33, and his wife, Ma Hsan, 29, from Ahtet Thin Pone Tan Village, found an artillery shell while cutting wood in the forest and decided to take it home. But the shell exploded on their way back, said village administrator U Thein Sein.

“They went to the forest near the village to cut wood and they found an artillery shell there. They took it and it seems they played with it on their boat while heading home,” he told The Irrawaddy.

Two other villagers were on the boat with the couple but were not injured as the shell exploded in the center and they were seated at either end.

Ko Maung Oo Tun died immediately and Ma Hsan died while being taken to the hospital in Poe Shue Pyin Village.

Ko Aung, a member of the Poe Shue Pyin Alliance Social Assistance Organization, said local civil society groups and government agencies were helping the couple’s families with funeral arrangements.

In a post to its Facebook page, the alliance said Ko Maung Oo Tun was applying a knife to the shell when it went off.

Translated from Burmese by Thet Ko Ko.