NAY PYI TAW – The flood of Tatkone in Nay Pyi Taw also affected the junta defense industry 1 and 4, with over 30 junta soldiers and family members killed and carried off by the current, and the arsenal, production, and raw materials destroyed, according to sources within the military.
The flood that started on September 9 evening until September 14, caused by the overflow of mountain streams, affected both junta defense industries 1 and 4 located in the east of Tatkone. The sudden influx of water from the mountain streams and the dams reportedly caused major damages to the arsenal, weapon production set-ups, raw materials, chemicals, stored acid used in the manufacture of gunpowder, fuel tanks, and storage tanks, and it is said that the bodies of over 30 junta forces and family members who died and were carried off by the current have been recovered while over 20 are still reported missing.
“The reports of defense industry 1 and 4 during the flood were kept in the dark so we couldn’t confirm it. Now, we can confirm that over 30 died in the two factories. The production and storage were all destroyed. Weapons and ammunition were carried off by the current and there is an ongoing project to retrieve them. Over 40 motorcycles and 8 military trucks also drifted away,” said the military source.
Only over five days after the flood did the junta council begin works to recover the bodies of its troops, prioritizing the retrieval of weapons and ammunition, and many of those junta bodies were reportedly stuck in fields and trees.
As mines and bombs from the defense industry factories were also carried away by the current but not fully recovered, local farmers shared that farmers should be cautioned of those explosives being underground when farming the fields near the factory’s next farming season.
The junta council’s official statements said that over 400 people were killed in the floods across the country during mid-September.
