Pokémon Go, the international gaming phenomenon that has resulted in a string of increasingly absurd injuries—bruised shins, broken limbs, car accidents, a 90-foot-fall down a cliff in California, and at least one poisonous snake bite—has now led a Bosnian nongovernmental organization to warn players against entering literal mine fields in search of Pokémon.
"Today we received information that some users of the Pokemon Go app in Bosnia were going to places which are a risk for (unexploded) mines, in search of a pokemon," the NGO, Posavina bez mina, wrote on its Facebook page. "Citizens are urged not to do so, to respect demarcation signs of dangerous mine fields and not to go into unknown areas."
There are still tens of thousands of active landmines in Bosnia which were planted between 1992 and 1995 during the Bosnian War. According to a report from Channel News Asia, 2.3 percent of the country is believed to be covered in undetonated mines; since the end of the war, landmine blasts have killed about 600 people and injured an additional 1,100.
Back in the U.S., the game has also apparently inspired a new generation of wannabe criminals—that is, according to one Virginia county sheriff’s department, which warned locals not to trespass in a lengthy Facebook post on July 11.
“Deputies have located numerous individuals on business, church, and government properties at all hours of the night, when these places are closed to the public. The participants are using their phones to find the location of 'Pokemons' in order to play the game,” the post read. “Please refrain from going onto property without proper permission or after appropriate times.”
The augmented reality game encourages players to catch virtual Pokémon in their neighborhoods, pulling information from phone camera and GPS systems to simulate reality.
