At least 55 people have been killed and dozens injured in an explosion in a village in a rebel-held region of Myanmar. The BBC reported on Sunday (May 31).
A source familiar with the situation in Kawong Tat village in Namkham township in Shan state, near the border with China, said 25 women and 30 men were killed. Other reports have slightly varied the number of casualties.
The source also said that rescue teams were searching and rescuing people trapped under the rubble.
The Ta'ang National Liberation Army (TNLA), which controls the area and is fighting a fierce battle with Myanmar's military junta, said explosives used in mining and quarrying had exploded.
Residents described devastation and chaos after the explosion.
Many initially thought the blast was caused by an airstrike, one wrote on social media.
According to the post, children were among the dead and hundreds of houses were damaged, affecting almost an entire area.
The resident wrote, “My phone only saved my life by sheer luck. I was sitting in my bedroom eating noodles and looking at my phone. If I had eaten in the kitchen, I probably wouldn't be alive today.”
The resident said his leg was slightly injured and his own house was destroyed, describing scenes of panic and grief following the blast.
“People were crying, calling their parents. It felt like the world was ending,” he wrote.
