When Thailand and Cambodia fought in 2025, there were reports of three Royal Thai Army personnel sustaining injuries when the main gun of their Chinese VT-4 main battle tank ruptured. The tank was in action when the damage happened, leaving its barrel shattered and rendering the vehicle combat-ineffective while on the line of fire, reports said.
Material fatigue, manufacturing defects, ammunition issues, and operational factors are all among the suspected causes of the embarrassing failure.
Now, a similar incident involving a Chinese tank has emerged from Bangladesh. The incident from Chittagong, however, caused casualties, as two Bangladesh Army soldiers died and another was seriously injured when a Type 59 tank exploded during a field-firing exercise at the Hathazari Field Firing Range on Wednesday. The incident was confirmed by the Inter-Services Public Relations Directorate (ISPR) — the public relations wing of the Armed Forces.
“Today, during a field-firing exercise at the Hathazari Field Firing Range in Chattogram, a sudden accident occurred while a tank was firing, killing two Bangladesh Bangladesh Army soldiers and seriously injuring an officer,” the Directorate said.
As per the ISPR, the unfortunate incident happened during a routine firing exercise at the army range. A video viral on the internet showed uniformed personnel being blown into the air from the turret following a strong blast inside the tank. The video's legitimacy, however, couldn't be independently verified by THE WEEK.
According to reports, the Bangladesh Army did not immediately reveal the cause of the blast.
Chinese Type 59 tanks
Produced between 1958 and 1985, the Type 59 is a Chinese version of the Soviet T-54A main battle tank. A veteran of many conflicts including the Vietnam War, the Cambodian Civil War, the Indo-Pakistani Wars of 1965 and 1971, the Iran–Iraq War, and the Second Sudanese Civil War, it is still used by a handful of nations including Bangladesh, Pakistan, Zambia, Chad, and North Korea.
The Bangladesh Army has been using a modernised export variant of the tank called the Type 59G Durjoy. The 42-tonne tanks total 225 units and have been undergoing modernisations since 2015.
It features added explosive reactive armour covering the entire front, redesigned side armour, second-generation night-vision equipment, and an upgraded modern fire-control system. The tank does not have an integrated automatic loading system, and the Durjoy has a 28-round ammunition reserve.
