Ubon Ratchathani clears Sirinthorn Dam area of land mines

UBON RATCHATHANI, 4th April 2018 (NNT) - April 4th each year marks International Day of Mine Awareness and Assistance in Mine Action. This year the Royal Thai Armed Forces have again held a campaign to raise awareness of land mines and have announced the clearing of mines at Sirinthorn Dam.

Commander of the Thailand Mine Action Center Lt Gen Sithipon Nimnuan, and Governor of Ubon Ratchathani Sarit Witoon, launched an exhibition to raise awareness of the dangers of land mines and announced Nikhom Lamdom Noi Subdistrict as now being mine-free. The area will be turned into a public park with cycling paths.

The mine fields at Sirinthorn Dam were laid in 1980 due to past border disputes and insurgencies. Mine clearance operations were undertaken from October, 2017, to January 12th this year.

Thailand once had mine fields in as many as 27 provinces. At present, the number has been reduced to 13 provinces.


National News Bureau Of Thailand | Ubon Ratchathani clears Sirinthorn Dam area of land mines

Thailand

Mine Action

Last updated: 11 December 2017
Contaminated by: mines (massive contamination) and explosive remnants of war (ERW).

Article 5 deadline: 1 November 2018
(Five-year extension requested)

By July 2017, the Kingdom of Thailand had an estimated 410km2 of suspected mined area. In 2016, a total of 28.19km2 was released, of which 98% (27.72km2) was canceled by non-technical survey. Just over 0.07km2 was reduced by technical survey and 0.39km2 was cleared, with the destruction of 1,231 antipersonnel mines. Land release results for 2016, including clearance, were a decrease from 2015.
Recommendations for action

• The Thailand Mine Action Center (TMAC) should complete non-technical survey of all mined areas to international standards.
• Thailand should increase its capacity to conduct survey and clearance; as of mid 2017 it already appeared to be behind on its new extension request target.

Contamination
Thailand is affected by mines as well as by ERW, including both abandoned explosive ordnance (AXO) and unexploded ordnance (UXO), the result of conflicts on its borders with Cambodia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, and Myanmar.
At the end of 2016, Thailand reported that 14 of 77 provinces are still mine-affected with a total of 309 suspected hazardous areas (SHAs) covering 422km2 (see table below). Three-quarters of this suspected contamination (approximately 319km2) was concentrated in seven provinces bordering Cambodia. Of the remainder, 69.6km2 or 16% was on the border with Lao PDR; 33km2 (8%) was on the border with Myanmar; and the remaining fragment was in Yala province along the border with Malaysia.[1] By July 2017, the Thai Mine Action Center (TMAC)’s estimate of total contamination had fallen to less than 410km2.[2]

more stats here

Mine Action | Reports | Monitor

Interesting story. I had no idea there were land mines in the Sirinthorn Dam area. I know it is a large area, probably nowhere near the actual dam. If you are going to Chong Mek, just past the entrance to Sirintorn dam, you cross a bridge look off to the right and you can see the dam. Below that bridge is a beautiful spot to picnic and swim. The water is clean and shallow, until they open the dam. You can be playing around in 2 feet of water, then they open the dam, 30 minutes later its 12 feet deep and moving fast. No problem if you are a good swimmer, nice rock ledges to dive off of. Probably the land mines are nowhere near the dam, but after reading this, I wouldn't go back.