PHRAE: A man lost his right foot when he stepped on a land mine while cutting bamboo in a forest in Den Chai district on Monday morning.
Pol Lt Col Soranakom Kukkong, of Den Chai police station, said the incident occurred at about 8am in a community forest near Ban Huay Kut in tambon Den Chai.
A medical team from Den Chai Hospital and bomb disposal police were dispatched to the scene to investigate.
Yossakorn Chuchart, 21, told police that he and his father, Tawatchai, 43, went into the forest to cut bamboo stems to make chopsticks.
He was working about 200 metres away from his father when he suddenly heard a loud explosion, Mr Yossakorn said. On reaching his father, he found his right foot was severed at the ankle.
Mr Tawatchai was rushed to Den Chai Hospital.
Puthiseth Suthamsupacharoen, the headman of Ban Huay Kut, said most of the villagers in the village make their living from forest products, including making chopsticks from bamboo.
There were two similar mine explosions in the past, but the villagers were not hurt. This was the most serious incident to date, he said.
Members of the bomb disposal team collected evidence to determine the type of mine and investigate the reason it was planted there, and by whom.