The disaster occurred at jade mine after a heavy rainstorm in Myanmar’s Kachin State, took lives of at least 113 miners, said U Tin Soe, the region’s minister of Parliament.
The labour in this notoriously hazardous conditions to produce jade worth billions of dollars, however, the local people have no other option for making living. The tragedy occurred on Thursday was caused by a tsunami, the regional authorities said.
A huge pile of muddy waste collapsed into an open pit in northern Myanmar, killing at least 113 miners. The scores remained missing in northern Myanmar after a jade mine collapsed into an open pit, triggering a deadly wave, NYT said. The death toll is expected to rise, the rescuers warn. Meanwhile, the rainfall is hampering the search-and-rescue efforts.
“At least 200 will be killed from this,” said U Kyaw Min, administrator for Wai Khar District. “We can’t go deeper to rescue, so we have to pick up the floating dead bodies,” he added. “It’s also difficult to send the patients to hospital because the roads are muddy because of the rain.”
Mine collapses occur too often in Kachin State
The mine collapses occur often despite attempts to regulate the industry. Much of the mining in Kachin is done illegally by wildcat miners.
Last year, more than 50 died in a tailings collapse, and dozens were swept away the year before. At least 120 were buried in 2015 after the collapse of a mound of tailings, according to the statistics.
Kachin is Myanmar’s northernmost state, which is rich in natural resources. Over the decades, the state has been racked by fighting between the military and ethnic rebels, but the lucrative jade mining area has largely remained under government control.
