An old wartime land mine exploded on Thursday (March 16th) in Egypt’s canal city of Suez, injuring four people, Egyptian media reported.
Security forces are currently sweeping the area for other mines.
Egypt is considered one of the world's most contaminated countries in terms of the number of mines and explosive war remnants scattered across its territory.
According to recent media reports, up to 20 million mines are buried in the sands of north-west Egypt, planted there during World War II.
The mines, which cover vast tracts of the desert, were planted between 1940 and 1943 during battles between warring sides, Brig. Gen. Jawdat Ashraf of the Egyptian police told Al-Mashareq in September.
Over the past 20 years, 3,200 people have died in landmine explosions while 4,723 have been left handicapped in mine-related accidents in the country, according to the Journal of ERW and Mine Action.
