At least 36 people were feared dead at a jade mine in northern Myanmar after a deadly landslide swept several people into a lake on Sunday, according to a rescue worker and local journalist.
The horrific accident was witnessed in the remote town of Hpakant, the center of Myanmar’s secretive jade industry, where scavengers battle the dangers of life picking through unstable earth and rubble excavated by mining companies, searching for small pieces of the semi-precious stone.
A team of over 100 rescue workers has been looking for survivors, one of whom contacted Reuters by phone saying that eight people were injured and taken to hospital on Sunday.
“We haven’t found a body yet, but we are still searching,” he said.
Citing witnesses, Tar Lin Maung, a local journalist said the waste heap that collapsed on Sunday was about 150 meters (492 ft) high.
“There is no chance that they would survive in this muddy lake,” Tar Lin Maung said.
Accidents are common in the poorly regulated mines of Hpakant, which has seen some of Asia’s worst mining disasters, including a landslide in 2020 that killed at least 170 people.
Comments are closed.