Nearly 80 bodies pulled from landslide at Myanmar jade mine
- 8 years ago
Nearly 80 bodies have been pulled from a landslide near a jade mine in Myanmar's northern Kachin State and an estimated 100 people are still missing, a rescue official said on Sunday.
The landslide happened in the early hours in Hpakant, an area that produces some of the world's highest quality jade, but the mines and dump sites for debris are rife with hazards.
"So far we have found nearly 80 bodies from the collapsed dump as we continue searching for the missing," an official from the Hpakant Township Fire Brigade told Reuters by telephone.
According to researchers from environmental advocacy group Global Witness, which published a comprehensive report on the sector earlier this year, the value of jade production in Myanmar is estimated to have been as much as US$31 billion in 2014.
The landslide happened in the early hours in Hpakant, an area that produces some of the world's highest quality jade, but the mines and dump sites for debris are rife with hazards.
"So far we have found nearly 80 bodies from the collapsed dump as we continue searching for the missing," an official from the Hpakant Township Fire Brigade told Reuters by telephone.
According to researchers from environmental advocacy group Global Witness, which published a comprehensive report on the sector earlier this year, the value of jade production in Myanmar is estimated to have been as much as US$31 billion in 2014.