Narinjara News, June 28, 2025

A Bangladeshi youth is said to have lost one of his legs in a landmine blast while transporting illegal items to the Bangladesh-Rakhine border.

According to Jago News 24, which publishes in Bengali, the young man has been identified as Omar Miah, 25, the son of Saber Miah from the Mawlawikta area of the Kachchhpia sector, Ramu (Panwa) township, Cox's Bazar district.

The youngster trod on a landmine on the 25th of this month in the Naikhongchhari hamlet of Bandarban district, close to the Myanmar Rakhine border, while smuggling contraband items across the border. The landmine exploded and severely injured his leg. 

“The incident occurred at Jaruliya Kriya, on the border with Buzila in Naikhongchhari Township, at 3:30 a.m. on June 25. A local senior citizen said that the explosion destroyed his whole left leg below the ankle.

"We have heard that one person was hurt in the mine blast. The locals rescued him and brought him to the hospital," said Md. Masruul, the Officer-in-Charge (OC) of the Kaikhongchhari police station.

According to the report, Omar, a young man who had been smuggling cattle and drugs along the border for some time, was traveling with smugglers to the Myanmar border to transport cattle and drugs on the day of the mine explosion, just like on other days.

The wounded were transported from Naikhongchhari Township Hospital to Cox's Bazar District Hospital.

Following a landmine explosion on the border on June 22 that also resulted in the amputation of the leg of a 17-year-old Bengali boy, this is the second landmine explosion in the last five days.

Arafatu Islam, 17, also known as Badal Khuilla Mia, of Okiya Township, has been named as the young man.

The Bangladesh-Rakhine border is still a hazardous area since thousands of landmines have not yet detonated.