The Many Deadly Dangers of Land Mines

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Did you know that roughly 26,000 people are killed each year by land mines? Land mines are relics left over by wars that cause disastrous consequences for anyone who lives around them.

Mines are triggered by either people trying to collect pieces of them for scrap or simply accidentally when walking. Either way, the triggered mines lead to amputated limbs and often death.

With this in mind, you have to wonder why the mines aren't set to auto-destruct. Some are however, these mechanisms aren’t always reliable. The next question is: why don't those who install the mines remove them once the war is over?

Efforts are underway to remove the mines but at the current rate, it would take around 1,100 years to get rid of the 110 million landmines scattered across the world. It would also cost around $100 billion. Yikes!

And even demining causes its fair share of victims: an average of two people are injured and one killed for every 5,000 mines cleared. There are tools that can be used to make this process easier and safer. From metal detectors to animals, we cover all these in our video and tell you which are the best.