YANGON: Two were killed, and over 30 have gone missing in a jade mine landslide in northern Myanmar’s Kachin State on Sunday, local police said Monday.
The landslide took place at around 3 pm local time on Sunday in a jade mine near Ma Na Village in Hpakant township of Kachin State, a Hpakant township police officer told Xinhua.
“Two dead bodies were retrieved. The others remained missing. There are about eight people who sustained injuries,” the police officer said.
Ko Thein Than Htike, a rescue worker in Hpakant township, told Xinhua that it is difficult to determine the exact number of the people who went missing as they are migrant workers.
Deadly landslides are frequent in Kachin state, especially in Hpakant mining region.
Many locals make their living by jade scavenging in the region and most of the landslides are caused by the partial collapse of tailings heaps and dams.
A major fatal landslide occurred at a jade mining site in Hpakant township in July 2020, leaving 174 dead and 54 others injured. – BERNAMA-XINHUA
