Witnesses tell of devastation from Myanmar explosion that killed dozens

The unexplained detonation of explosives stored by one of Myanmar’s ethnic armed groups has killed dozens, the Ta’ang National Liberation Army (TNLA) that ‌controls the village and witnesses said on Monday, as the search for survivors continued amid widespread devastation at the site.

The explosion in Kaung Tat village happened around noon local time, the TNLA) stated on Sunday.

On Monday, a spokesperson for the TNLA said a hospital tally put the death toll at 39, ​with 75 injured, in the first official toll the group has issued. That was lower than a reported death toll of ​at least 55 from local media and witness accounts.

“Everything was completely destroyed beyond recognition,” resident Moe Z ⁠told Reuters. He was travelling with a group of friends on a road about 1.5 miles (2.4 km) away when the explosion happened, ​saying a mushroom cloud of smoke billowed into the sky.

The TNLA, which controls the village near the Chinese border and is in a ceasefire ​with the Myanmar military, stated on May 31 that it had been storing the explosives that detonated “for use in mining operations”.

“We deeply apologise for this accident, which has resulted in a tragic loss of lives and immense devastation,” TNLA spokesperson Lway Yay Oo said on June 1, adding that more than 200 homes had been ​damaged.

Myanmar’s mineral resources, including rare earths, have become important sources of revenue for both the new military-backed administration and the resistance forces in the country’s ​civil war.

The ongoing conflict began in 2021, when the military staged a coup that ousted the democratically elected civilian government led by Nobel laureate Aung San Suu ‌Kyi.

Moe Z ⁠said that at first his group thought the explosion might have been an airstrike, but the absence of follow-up blasts made them wonder if a large unexploded bomb had detonated.

“Based on the explosive force and the sound we witnessed, this was no small explosion, it wasn’t the scale of a drone-drop bomb,” he said, of a tactic that has been used in Myanmar’s civil war.