Saved the leg of man clearing mines.
These boots were made for surviving
landmines
By David Boey
AN INDIAN national is still alive to help clear fields of mines and
do it on his own legs too because of a pair of Singapore-made
boots.
The steel and aluminium sole saved a man's leg - and life when he
stepped on a mine in Sri Lanka.
Mr Partha Sarathy was wearing the boots, which are made of the same
material as bulletproof vests and have a steel and aluminium sole
and heel, when he accidentally detonated a landmine while on a
mission to remove mines in Sri Lanka in August.
The former Indian Army soldier in his late 40s had lifted a
Pakistan-made mine from the ground and was taking it away to be
disposed of when he slipped and dropped it. His foot landed smack
on the device, which exploded.
When the smoke cleared, his colleagues were surprised to find him
still alive, though stunned. His right ankle was dislocated and his
right leg was broken.
The boot on that foot was shattered.
He and 30 others were probing for anti-personnel mines in a field
when the incident occurred on Aug 5.
A spokesman for Horizon, a non-profit organisation which is
carrying out the clearance operation, said Mr Sarathy is the first
of its staff to be hurt on the Sri Lanka job, where they have
removed 2,500 mines.
The mission in the island country, which has been involved in a
civil war for many years now, is supervised by the United Nations
and sponsored by Norway.
Mr F.K. Lee, chief executive officer of BfR Holdings, the Singapore
company which makes the boots, said Mr Sarathy's grateful
colleagues sent a thank-you note to the company and a picture of
what was left of the boot that saved his life and leg.
The boots, which look and weigh the same as regular army ones, were
invented by Singaporean Andrew Vaz, who used to work for the
Defence Ministry.
He was inspired to come up with the boots after seeing the injuries
caused by landmines while on a business trip to Cambodia.
Mr Lee declined to name his customers, citing non-disclosure
agreements, but said 'more than half a dozen' armed forces in
Europe, South-east Asia and the Middle East have bought 'a
substantial number'.
The Indian Army and Sri Lankan Army have also looked at the Blast
and Fragment Resistant boots after learning how they saved Mr
Sarathy, he added.
'My initial reaction on hearing the good news was one of
satisfaction in knowing we saved someone's leg from amputation,' he
said.
