It has been over 30 years since the end of the Khmer Rouge regime, which resulted in the deaths of an estimated 2 million people. Cambodia and its people still suffer from the legacy of that dark time in a variety of ways, including the deadly and hidden threat of abandoned land mines, which still kill or injure more than 100 people every year.
Since the early 1990s, the Cambodian Mine Action Centre (CMAC) has been training de-miners and has been responsible for clearing vast areas of Cambodia from the threat of land mines.
The huge task has now taken a new direction for CMAC. The group, working in conjunction with the Golden West Humanitarian Foundation, has selected a 9-person strong group of de-miners from 40 hopeful volunteers to become Cambodia’s first elite salvage diving unit.
During the early 1970’s ships carrying large stockpiles of explosive ordinance to supply the Khmer Republic were sunk in the Mekong and Tonlé Sap rivers by the Khmer Rouge and have laid there ever since as well as large ordinance dropped by the American Military during the Vietnam War on Cambodia have also ended up in rivers and lakes.
The selected 9 divers are being trained not only to dive and recover, but are also learning how to do so completely blind in depths of up to 30 meters and against the strong currents of the Mekong and Tonlé Sap rivers. These are hostile conditions, requiring both physical and mental strength and dexterity.
A series of portraits DARK WATER: Diver Portraits complements this series
UXO salvage diver Leng Channak (33) takes part in the training programme devised by the USA 7th Engineer Dive Detachment off the coast of Sihanoukville, Cambodia. The divers train to identify UXO (inert for training purposes) wearing ‘black-out’ masks to simulate the zero visibility they will encounter in the rivers and lakes of Cambodia.
UXO salvage diver Piseth Dara (24) takes part in the training programme devised by the USA 7th Engineer Dive Detachment off the coast of Sihanoukville, Cambodia. He sits at the front of one of two inflatable ribs which will be used by the salvage divers. His role on this mission was to be the ‘recovery diver’ and would be the first to dive to the aid of his colleagues if they got into difficulty underwater.
UXO Salvage Diver Phorn Peakdey (35) sprints along the beach as part of a training exercise at Sihanoukville,Cambodia.
UXO salvage diver Lorn Sarath (25) sits underneath a mosquito net in the early hours of the morning at the divers barracks in Kampong Chhanag Province, Cambodia. The divers study English daily improving their ability to work regionally and train globally.
Members of the UXO salvage dive team share breakfast together ahead of a training exercise. The divers live together in barracks and eat and cook together, every aspect of their daily life is aimed at creating a tight and cohesive team.
Heng Sambo (38) collapses during an intense training session on the beach at Sihanoukville, Cambodia. At the beginning of the training many of the now divers could not swim. Now divers swim regularly and conduct physical training daily. Sambo is not a full time member of the team but trained to dive with the team. Sambo works as a detection specialist and has worked all over the world identifying UXO.
UXO Salvage diver Brak Hean (42) treads water in the Olympic swimming pool in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. The dive team is regularly pushed to the limits of their physical capabilities as part of their robust training program.
Members of the UXO salvage dive team take part in a mission brief in their dive shop in Kampong Chhanang, Cambodia.
UXO salvage divers and members of the USA 7th Engineer Dive Detachment takes part in the training programme off the coast of Sihanoukville, Cambodia. In this exercise the team was learning how to recover large inert ordinance using airbags to raise the item from the sea bed.
UXO Salvage diver Brak Hean (42) is helped from the water by a member of the USA 7th Engineer Dive Detachment in a training programme off the coast of Sihanoukville, Cambodia.
UXO salvage divers and members of the USA 7th Engineer Dive Detachment load a large inert piece of ordinance onto a boat ahead of a training programme off the coast of Sihanoukville, Cambodia. The inert ordinance will be sunk off the coast and used in identification and recovery exercises.
UXO salvage divers team leader Sok Chenda (38) stands on the edge of the Olympic swimming pool in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. Chenda is the highest ranking member of the salvage divers, prior to working with the team he worked at CMAC (Cambodian Mine Action Centre) technical institute teaching the Military and De-miners how to identify UXO.
Members of the UXO salvage dive team attempt to raise an inert piece of ordinances from the sea bed, the ordinance is attached to an inflatable lift bag, this technique will be used to move and remove large pieces of ordinance which cannot be safely detonated in situ.
Members of the UXO salvage dive team practice removing a stricken diver from the water in a training exercise of the coast of Sihanoukville, Cambodia.
An inert piece of ordinance is attached to an inflatable lift bag, this technique will be used to move and remove large pieces of ordinance which cannot be safely detonated in situ.
Members of the UXO salvage dive team prepare dive equipment on the banks of the Tonle Sap river overlooked by local villagers.
Members of the UXO salvage dive team on the Tonle Sap river, Cambodia.
UXO Salvage dive team leader Sok Chenda (38) holds onto the side of a boat after completing a dive in the Tonle Sap River, Cambodia.
UXO salvage diver Piseth Dara (24) emerges from underwater in the Olympic swimming pool
in Phnom Penh the capital of Cambodia. Prior to the diver training the majority fo the team had basic swimming skills, now they are all strong swimmers due to the intense nature of the training required to be a salvage diver.
Members of USA 7th Engineer Dive Detachment take part in training exercise with the Cambodian UXO salvage dive team off the coast of Sihanoukville, Cambodia.
UXO salvage dive team member Brak Hean (42) takes a leap from the 5 meter dive board at the Olympic swimming pool, Phnom Penh Cambodia. The divers must complete this jump as a team bonding exercise, unless the diver jumps the other team members must complete press ups until he jumps.
Golden West Humanitarian Foundation employee blocks his ears and watches as recovered UXO is disposed of, Golden West developed a UXO harvesting program were they recycle UXO into shaped charges which are then used to destroy other pieces of UXO in the field.
The UXO salvage diver team during training on the island of Koh Rong off the coast of Sihanoukville, Cambodia, line up ahead of a sea swim. All the divers were previously de-miners with the Cambodian Mine Action Centre and were selected by the Golden West Humanitarian Foundation from a group of over forty applicants.
UXO salvage diver Piseth Dara (24) prepares to dive. Dara is taking part in a training programme devised by the USA 7th Engineer Dive Detachment off the coast of Sihanoukville, Cambodia.