Man injured in land mine explosion in wetland

GOYANG -- A man had his ankle severed when a device presumed to be a land mine exploded in a wetland area in Goyang, northwest of Seoul, on Friday, authorities said.

The accident occurred at the entrance of Janghang Wetland at 9:50 a.m. during a cleanup operation by a social cooperative.

The worker in his 50s was airlifted to a hospital. The authorities are investigating the cause of the accident.

The 7.6-kilometer-long wetland of the Han River estuary was last month included in the Ramsar list of protected marshes.

The area located near the inter-Korean border was controlled by the military before it came under the jurisdiction of the city of Goyang in 2018. The city is building an ecological trail along the wetland. (Yonhap)