Two boys in Pailin province are in hospital after they stepped on a landmine while picking mushrooms in Pang Rolem village.

One of the boys, Kis Toy, 6, lost his leg in the accident, Kong Samnang, O’Tavao commune police chief, said yesterday.

Klem Et, aged 8, was slightly injured in the blast.

“The victims were new migrants and they did not know mines were there. Only the local people know and they do not dare to go there,” Samnang said.

He added that the mine exploded at about 9am when the boys were walking up Prech Mountain to search for mushrooms.

He said the Cambodian Mine Action Centre (CMAC) has banned people from the area, a former Khmer Rouge base, pending its clearance.

Keo Pov, a local campaigner on landmine dangers, said that he had recorded 20 injuries and one death in the area so far this year.

CMAC has recorded a significant uptick in the number of deaths and injuries due to unexploded ordnance and landmines this year compared with 2013.