The smell reported at the Wat Po 5000 refugee sanctuary in Preah Vihear province’s Kulen district on Wednesday, August 13, was not from poison dropped by drones, but from burning trash and freshly sprayed herbicide, confirmed Kulen district governor Pen Cheung.
Residents of the camp who raised the issue may have been swayed by sensationalist reports of the Thai use of chemical weapons.
Cheung explained the causes of the odour to The Post this morning.
“There was a misunderstanding. An investigation by a working group found that there were no drones dropping chemicals. The smell came first from burning plastic trash, and second from spraying herbicide,” he said.
Last night, August 13, Preah Vihear provincial governor Kim Rithy took to social media to say an investigation was underway.
“At 8.30pm tonight, at the Wat Po 5000 sanctuary, residents reported smelling something like herbicide. Currently, the people are safe and resting in their individual tents. A working group is investigating the source of the odour. Please be informed,” he said.
Cheung explained that the rumours that poison had been dropped by drones arose after residents saw an aircraft’s lights and mistook them for a drone, which coincided with the smell of burning plastic trash and the spraying of herbicide nearby.
“Someone saw an aircraft flying at altitude, but they thought it was a drone. At the same time, someone was burning trash, and the wind blew the smell toward the people,” he said.
“They assumed the lights were from a drone dropping chemicals. Coincidentally, someone was spraying herbicide behind the restroom area to kill grass, so there was a chemical smell as well. That’s why there was confusion all night,” he added.
He noted that there are currently just over 3,700 displaced families staying at the sanctuary, down from the more than 5,400 families that were previously there.
