A devastating explosion at a storage facility containing mining explosives has killed at least 39 people and injured more than 70 others in northeastern Myanmar’s volatile Shan State. The massive blast occurred around noon on Sunday in the village of Kaungtup, located in Namhkam township just three kilometers south of the Chinese border. The area is heavily administered by the Ta’ang National Liberation Army (TNLA), a powerful ethnic insurgent group that has long fought the central military government for regional autonomy.
The catastrophic shockwave completely leveled over half of the village’s residential homes, leaving a massive crater and reducing nearby structures to unrecognizable rubble. Local rescue volunteers, using heavy excavation machinery and backhoes to sift through the debris, warned that the death toll remains fluid and could rise further as many victims remain buried beneath collapsed concrete. Some reports from regional media and independent aid groups have already placed the potential fatalities as high as 45 or more, noting that severe fragmentation has complicated initial identification efforts.
In an official statement released on its social media channels, the TNLA confirmed the tragedy, explaining that the facility’s economic department was storing gelignite intended for local gemstone quarrying and commercial mining operations. Gelignite is widely used in rock blasting but is notorious for becoming highly unstable over time if stored improperly. While initial panicked reactions from local villagers mistook the thunderous detonation for a military airstrike, the rebel command has insisted the catastrophe was accidental. The group stated that an exhaustive investigation is currently underway to determine the exact cause of the ignition, promising to hold those responsible for the poor safety standards strictly accountable.
