SARAJEVO, Aug. 25 (Xinhua) -- Two deminers were dead and one injured after a landmine exploded on Sunday in an area around Kupres, a city located 145 km northwest of Bosnia and Herzegovina's (BiH's) capital Sarajevo.
Sasa Obradovic, director of BiH's Mine Action Centre (BHMAC) confirmed to Xinhua in a telephone conversation that two deminers were killed on early Sunday morning by a PMR-3 anti-personnel landmine.
According to Obradovic, the deminers are all experienced with the two killed 42 and 52 years old and the injured 34.
The injured deminer with light injuries was transferred to a local hospital.
The PMR-3 is an anti-personnel stake mine used during the 1992-1995 war in the country, usually covered by material from the woods.
Director of Federal Department of Civilian Protection (FUCZ) Fahrudin Solak said that deminers were professionals who have been doing the job for many years.
"Unfortunately, the situation is such that accidents happen to everyone. We feel satisfaction because we know that we have saved many lives. That's the most valuable thing -- life," Solak said in a press statement by FUCZ the same day.
An investigation is underway to determine the circumstances of the accident.
Currently, the suspected area in BiH covered with mines left from the 1992-1995 war is 1,018 square kilometers or 2.1 percent of the total area of the country.
Through systematic reconnaissance operations, members of BHMAC assessed that there are 1,398 mine-affected communities with some 79,000 landmines.
During demining operations since the end of the war in 1996, a total of 53 deminers have been killed.
