Explosion in Myanmar village kills at least 55, injures dozens

At least 55 people were killed and dozens of others injured after a powerful explosion struck a village in Myanmar’s Shan State on Sunday, according to reports from local rescuers and media accounts.

The blast occurred in Kaung Tat village in Namkham Township, where reports indicated that the dead included 25 women and 30 men.

An emergency responder, speaking anonymously because of security concerns, said the explosion levelled numerous homes and that the injured had been taken to a nearby hospital for treatment.

The rescuer warned that the death toll could rise further, as additional victims may still be buried beneath collapsed buildings.

A second rescue worker, who also requested anonymity, told AFP that the number of fatalities was higher, putting the death toll at 59. The official said emergency teams were collecting bodies for cremation.

More from World

Myanmar has been engulfed in conflict since the military seized power in a 2021 coup, triggering a nationwide civil war involving pro-democracy resistance forces and several powerful ethnic armed organisations.

The Ta’ang National Liberation Army (TNLA), one of the country’s strongest ethnic minority armed groups, said the incident was caused by the accidental detonation of explosives stored for mining and stone-quarrying operations. According to the group, the blast occurred at around noon local time in Namhkam on Sunday.

"Because of this explosion, many local villagers lost their lives and suffered injuries and damage to their homes," the TNLA said in a statement, without giving a specific toll.

The explosives belonged to its economic department, and the exact cause of the blast was under investigation, the group said.

Many rebel groups in Myanmar rely on mining of precious minerals to fund their campaigns against the military, with lax safety measures making mine collapses and other accidents common.

The country's borderlands are home to a myriad of ethnic minority armed groups, many of which have battled the military since independence from Britain in 1948 over autonomy and control of lucrative resources.

The so-called "Three Brotherhood Alliance" of ethnic minority armed groups -- made up of the TNLA, the Arakan Army (AA) and the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA) -- agreed to a China-brokered ceasefire with the military in early 2024.

But in June that year, the TNLA launched fresh attacks in Shan state and the neighbouring Mandalay region.

That summer the rebels captured the northern ruby-mining town of Mogok, with the TNLA driving the opposition offensive.

Then in October last year, the TNLA said it had agreed to a withdrawal from Mogok, which was mediated by China.

Beijing is a key power broker in Myanmar's civil war, analysts say, supporting both rebels and the military on a sliding scale according to its economic and security interests.

With inputs from agencies