Rescue workers said Monday that at least 25 people were missing after a landslide at an illegal jade mine in a rural district of Myanmar.
The tragedy occurred on Sunday in northern Kachin’s Hpakant township, near where hundreds of miners were buried in a landslide in 2020, just days after much of the country was flooded.
The lucrative jade mining industry is mainly uncontrolled, with migrant workers subjected to hazardous working conditions and frequently fatal accidents.
“Approximately 25 people have gone missing.” “We don’t have a detailed list because it’s difficult to get here,” one unnamed rescue worker told AFP from the scene.
He explained how the strong rains loosened and collapsed a big pile of earth around 150-180 meters (500-600 feet) high left behind by mining activities.
He stated that while search and rescue activities were ongoing, some personnel had already returned to the spot in the hopes of finding jade.
“We haven’t found any dead bodies yet,” he explained.
Another rescue worker confirmed to AFP that efforts to recover individuals were still underway, amid concerns about subsequent landslides.
“It is not safe for rescue workers to search it,” claimed the guy, who worked for the emergency organization Myanmar Rescue and asked to remain anonymous.
The mine’s operations had been halted during the wet season, he continued, but those caught in the avalanche were thought to be locals expecting to strike it rich by scouring the mud.
Dozens of people are killed each year while working in the poorly regulated but lucrative jade industry, which employs low-wage migrant workers to extract a stone highly prized in neighboring China.
Jade and other abundant natural resources in Myanmar’s north, such as timber, gold, and amber, have contributed to the financing of both sides of a decades-long civil war between ethnic Kachin militants and the military.
Control of the mines traps civilians in deadly combat, with a thriving drug and gun trade worsening the situation.
While environmentalists and human rights organizations have long sought for reforms, international watchdogs say a military coup in 2021 largely halted expectations for higher industry standards.
According to Agence France Press
READ MORE https://pattayaone.news/
