A 35-year-old man, who was critically injured in a landmine explosion along the Ghumbhum border in Naikhongchhari upazila of Bandarban, died on Wednesday night while being transported to Chattogram for treatment.
The deceased, Shafiul Alam was a resident of the Rezu Amtoli area in Ghumbhum union and the son of Mohammad Kalu.
According to local sources, the explosion occurred around 3:30pm on Wednesday in a hilly border area in Ward No. 8 of Ghumbhum union. Shafiul was working in a banana plantation when a landmine went off with a loud bang. The force of the explosion severed one of his legs from his body and caused severe injuries to various other parts of his person.
Shafiq Azad, former president of Ukhiya Online Press Club, confirmed that Shafiul died in the ambulance at approximately 8:30pm while being moved to Chattogram Medical College Hospital (CMCH).
Following the blast, locals rescued the bloodied victim and first took him to the MSF hospital in Kutupalong, Ukhiya. He was later sent to Cox’s Bazar Sadar Hospital for advanced treatment. As his condition deteriorated, doctors referred him to CMCH, but he succumbed to his injuries en route.
Lieutenant Colonel SS Khairul Alam, commanding officer of 34 BGB, said the explosion took place approximately 400 metres inside Bangladeshi territory from border pillar-41, an area under the jurisdiction of the Garjanbunia BOP.
“A local Bangladeshi citizen was seriously injured in a landmine explosion while working in a banana orchard. He was quickly rescued and sent to hospital. We have learned that he died around 8:30pm on the way to Chattogram,” the BGB official said.
Local residents claimed that ordinary people are at extreme risk due to landmines allegedly planted by the Myanmar insurgent group, the Arakan Army (AA), in the border areas. The frequency of explosions involving landmines and abandoned munitions has seen an alarming rise in the Naikhongchhari border region recently.
Earlier on 9 June, a man named Abdul Khalek, 30, was killed in a landmine blast near border pillar BRM-40.
On 2 June, a teenager named Satnaing Tanchangya, 12, died in a mortar shell explosion in the Tuingajhiri border area of Ghumbhum.
Furthermore, three Bangladeshi citizens were killed in a landmine explosion between border pillars 41 and 42 on 24 May.
