Peru Taxi Explodes Near Chilean Border

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Published December 12, 2016

(Flickr)

Bomb specialists from the Chilean army pulled the remains of a Peruvian taxi out of a minefield on Saturday. At least one person was killed in the explosion that tore the taxi to shreds the night before.

Authorities say the driver went off-road and entered a well-marked minefield after dark Friday night in apparent attempt to avoid border controls.

The police official at Chile's Chacalluta border crossing told The Associated Press that more than one person was killed. The on-duty official spoke on condition of anonymity per police policy.

The vehicle exploded after hitting an anti-tank mine in an area known as "Quebrada Escritos," several miles south of Peru.

Chile and Peru are working with the Organization of American States to hire an international company to clear the mines.

The dictatorship of Gen. Augusto Pinochet laid hundreds of thousands of mines along Chile's borders with Peru and Bolivia in the 1970s, when it feared invasion from the north. Chile had sent most of its forces to the extreme south to defend against threats from Argentina. War was avoided after Pope John Paul II intervened.

Based on reporting by the Associated Press.

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