At least 46 people were killed in an explosion at an explosives depot in Myanmar – video

In northeastern Myanmar, near the border with China, a catastrophic explosion occurred in a building where explosives for the mining industry were stored. The incident killed at least 46 people, including six children, and injured another 74 people, some seriously. 

This was reported by the Associated Press (AP).

The tragedy occurred around noon on Sunday, May 31, in the village of Kaungtup, located in Namkam Township (Shan State), just three kilometers south of the Chinese border. According to preliminary data from rescue services, the epicenter of the explosion was a facility used by a local company to store large quantities of industrial explosives intended for blasting operations in quarries and mines. The blast wave was so powerful that it caused massive destruction to civilian infrastructure, completely destroying or seriously damaging more than 100 residential buildings within the blast radius.

The situation at the scene is complicated by political and security factors, as this border region is currently controlled by the Ta’ang National Liberation Army (TNLA)—one of the largest ethnic armed groups engaged in active combat against Myanmar’s central military government. A large-scale search-and-rescue operation is currently underway in the disaster zone, with emergency services and volunteers clearing the rubble of destroyed buildings. All injured individuals were promptly evacuated to the nearest medical facilities, and local authorities have launched an investigation to determine the exact causes of the spontaneous detonation of the hazardous materials. According to one theory put forward by experts, the cause may have been a violation of the conditions for long-term storage of explosives, which lost their stability over time.