How do anti-tank mines work?

In the early hours of this Friday, one person died and another was injured after a bomb exploded anti-tank mine on the border of Chili and Peru, in the region of Arica and Parinacota.

The incident occurred near Milestone 15 in the border complex Chacalluta after a vehicle attempted to flee the country through an unauthorized crossing.

The regional prosecutor of Arica and Parinacota, Mario Carrera Guerrero, said that the occupants of the vehicle cut the fences and crossed them, which led them to enter the minefield. This was indicated.

According to the prosecutor, the vehicle activated an anti-tank mine, causing the destruction of the vehicle and the immediate death of a man. His identity has not yet been determined.

“Another person was injured, this person was probably not in the vehicle, but must have been walking a few meters nearby,” Carrera added.

For its part, the army indicated that the explosive ordnance disposal (EOD) team approached the area of ​​the incident to rescue the civilian who only suffered injuries, who was then rescued by the SAMU to be transferred to the regional hospital.

Anti-tank mines are explosive munitions designed to damage or destroy armoured vehicles. Because their target is that, they could be found on highways, ditches or paths. They are distinguished from antipersonnel mines by their larger size and their longer-range explosive charge.

Its detonation occurs under a direct pressure of 130 to 150 kilograms. as described by United Nations Mine Action Service (UNMAS) . However, this does not mean that if a person of less weight walks on it, it will be completely safe.

Indeed, it is also possible that over time the systems deteriorate, reducing the pressure needed for them to explode.

Anti-personnel mines, on the other hand, only explode in the presence or proximity of people. Its purpose is to seriously injure, incapacitate or kill. According to UNMAS, they can be buried in the ground but also anchored high up.

But the two weapons also have some things in common. And they are generally used as defensive weapons, especially in times of war, to ensure the protection of military positions or generate the destruction of enemy troops’ infrastructure.

In the case of Chile, these types of devices were installed on the borders with Peru, Bolivia and Argentina, under the dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet, who ordered more than 181,000 to be planted.

In 2001, the country signed the Ottawa Convention, a treaty that bans the use, stockpiling and production of landmines.

Although the commitment was to clear the entire territory of mines by 2012, operations continued for several more years. In 2020 alone, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced that 179,815 anti-personnel and anti-vehicle mines had been removed from 200 border areas.

Despite the massive withdrawal, munitions still pose a risk in some areas. Last year, six army soldiers were injured by an anti-tank mine while traveling in a vehicle near Hito 15, in the Arica and Parinacota region.