Six deminers die in blast in southwestern Yemen

By Rabi Ebu Zamil

RIYADH (AA) - At least six mine clearance experts were killed Thursday when an explosion rocked an arms depot in southwestern Yemen, according to their employer.

The experts, who were working for the Saudi Project for Landmine Clearance (MASAM) in Yemen, were killed in an accidental blast at a warehouse in the port city of Mocha housing mines and other explosives that had been defused.

The explosion occurred while mines were being collected for destruction.

One person working as a driver was also seriously injured.

The Yemeni government and its allies accuse Houthi rebels of planting thousands of landmines across the impoverished country.

MASAM said it has managed to defuse more than 37,000 landmines.

Yemen has been wracked by violence since 2014, when the Shia Houthi group overran much of the country. The crisis escalated in 2015 when the Saudi-led coalition launched a devastating air campaign aimed at rolling back Houthi gains.

*Writing by Jeyhun Aliyev