Thai EOD teams clear remaining BM-21 rockets in Surin

- News

SURIN — 8 May 2026, Explosive ordnance disposal teams in Surin province are racing to locate and destroy the final unexploded BM-21 rockets left from clashes along the Thai-Cambodian border before local residents resume farming activities.

Pol. Lt. Col. Watcharin Chanthom, head of the EOD special operations unit in Surin provincial police, led officers and humanitarian demining teams on Thursday to sugarcane fields and rice paddies west of Ban Chorok village in Dan subdistrict, Kap Choeng district.

The operation focused on six remaining impact sites linked to the same barrage of BM-21 rockets fired during fighting on 24 July 2025, the same attack that killed an 8-year-old boy known as “Nong Namkhong” and 32-year-old Bandit Unjit.

Authorities used scanning equipment to search for explosive devices before excavating two sites.

At the first location, officials determined the rocket had already exploded on impact and fragments remained buried underground.

At a second site in a nearby sugarcane field, crews dug almost 10 metres deep but failed to locate the rocket after groundwater flooded the excavation area.

Officials said the rocket likely penetrated deeper than 10 metres into the soft, rain-soaked soil during the monsoon season and no longer posed a danger. They noted that BM-21 rockets can sink more than 20 metres underground in saturated conditions.

The sugarcane field owner said he was reassured by the explanation and planned to place a concrete pipe over the location to mark the impact site and use the groundwater for agricultural purposes.

Authorities said the remaining four sites would be excavated within the next two days.

The operation was observed by senators, provincial officials and local administrators following visits to border communities affected by the unrest and compensation efforts for residents impacted by the fighting.

Lt. Gen. Boonchan Nuansai, a senator from Surin province, thanked EOD officers for helping ensure villagers’ safety.

Officials said that in Kap Choeng district alone, including Dan and Ta Tien subdistricts, 189 BM-21 rockets had been identified, while eight additional suspected impact points remained under investigation.

In neighbouring Phanom Dong Rak district, authorities estimated that between 400 and 500 BM-21 rockets landed during the first round of fighting, while later clashes involved heavier use of RPG weapons.

The clearance operation began after residents requested assistance from district authorities to ensure fields were safe before planting crops.

Suphon Kanphai, 47, the owner of one of the sugarcane fields, said he discovered impact marks and metal fragments after inspecting his land following the clashes.

“In this area alone, nearly 10 rockets fell,” he said. “Some craters were very small and could disappear after heavy rain washed soil over them.”

He added that although the rocket at his site was not recovered, he trusted the information provided by authorities and no longer feared returning to work on the land.

The BM-21 rocket attack on Ban Chorok village occurred during cross-border fighting on 24 July 2025, when Cambodian forces fired multiple rockets into Thai territory, killing two civilians and damaging homes in the area.