Officials are requesting the Cambodian Mine Action Centre (CMAC) to destroy an anti-tank mine unearthed last week next to a Sihanoukville town street.

A group of water company workers found the mine Thursday while digging for a water pipeline connection in Commune 4, said Ros Eng Hong, the commune’s deputy police chief.

“While they were digging, the mine just emerged. But it didn’t explode,” said Eng Hong, adding that the UXO was shallowly buried, about 30 centimetres deep, near a paved road.

The workers stopped digging and reported the mine to police.

After inspecting the site, police planted fences around the UXO and hung warning signs.

“We’ll definitely remove it and destroy it … but I can’t confirm exactly when,” CMAC director general Heng Ratana said.

According to village chief Heng Bunly, Commune 4 is rife with UXO because it was a former military base during the Lon Nol regime.

“There are many ordnance in the area, especially 150-millimetre shell UXO. They’re piled up under the trees,” he said.

Five years ago, several villagers were extracting 150mm shells with the intent to sell the scrap metal when one exploded, killing two people, Bunly said.