Military and police officials continued their investigations Friday into the suspected crash of an unmanned aircraft, better known as a “drone,” in Preah Vihear province on Wednesday.
Three mid-air explosions were heard before the unidentified craft crashed, leaving debris scattered over a one-square-kilometer area of Kantuot commune in Choam Ksan district, located around 17 km from the Preah Vihear temple, officials said.
“It appears to be something like a small craft that can fly in the air using some sort of machine. However, we have found no [electric] wiring,” said Nuth Teng, provincial bureau chief of RCAF’s second infantry brigade.
“Investigators also found some explosives, in powder form, attached to some of the metal debris, which has been found in a large variety of shapes and sizes,” Nuth Teng said.
Evidence recovered from the crash site will be handed over to RCAF Military Region 4 headquarters in Siem Reap province, he said.
“We are continuing to collect this stuff,” he added. On Thursday, Nuth Teng said the craft could have come from nearby Thailand.
A staff member at the Thai Embassy in Phnom Penh on Friday said that the official responsible for answering such questions was outside the country.
Minister of Defense Tea Banh declined to comment on the origin of the craft, or its purpose, saying he had not yet received a full report.
Mao Pov, Preah Vihear provincial police chief, said a large piece of aluminum weighing around 100 kg has been recovered, but nothing retrieved so far has any sort of distinguishing markings.
Plastic components have not been found either, he said.
“There is no gasoline or anything that looks like an engine, or mechanical equipment,” he said.
“We have no technology to check on this kind of material,” he added.
