113 killed in Myanmar jade mine landslide

At least 113 people were killed and many others were reported missing on Thursday after a jade mine collapsed in Myanmar's Kachin state, authorities said.

Caused by the monsoon rains, the landslide occurred at the jade mining site in Sate Mu village tract of Hpakant township at 8 a.m., Xinhua news agency quoted a statement from the Fire Services Department as saying.

The miners were collecting stones in the jade-rich Hpakant area of Kachin state when the “muddy wave” crashed onto them, after heavy rain, the fire service department said in a Facebook post.

Deadly landslides and other accidents are common in the poorly regulated mines of Hpakant, which draw impoverished workers from across Myanmar, but this is the worst in more than five years.

 

( With inputs from IANS )