Wednesday 25 May 2016

Landslide at Myanmar jade mine kills at least twelve.

Twelve people have been confirmed dead and another eleven have been injured following a landslide at a jade mine at Hpakant in Kachin State, Myanmar, on Tuesday 24 May 2016. It is feared that many more people may be trapped beneath the rubble following the event, which occurred on a spoil heap produced by a large mining concern that was itself being worked by smaller artisanal miners looking for pieces of jade missed by the larger operation.

The scene of the 24 May 2016 Hpakant landslip. AFP.

Myanmar is the world's largest producer of jade, though much of this is produced (along with other precious and semi-precious minerals such as amber) at unregulated (and often illegal) artisanal mines in the north of the country, from where it is smuggled into neighbouring China. Accidents at such mines are extremely common, due to the more-or-less total absence of any safety precautions at the site. At many sites this is made worse by the unregulated use of explosives to break up rocks, often leading to the weakening of rock faces, which can then collapse without warning. The majority of people in this industry are migrant workers from the surrounding countryside, not registered with any local authority, which can make it difficult for rescuers to identify victims following such events, or even gain accurate assessments of the number of people likely to have been involved in such accidents.

The approximate location of the Hpakant jade mines. Google Maps.

See also...

http://sciencythoughts.blogspot.co.uk/2015/12/landslide-kills-at-least-five-at-mine.htmlLandslide kills at least five at mine in Kachin State, Myanmar.                                          Five people have been confirmed dead and as many as fifty more may be missing following a landslide at a jade mine at Hpakant in Kachin State, Myanmar, on Friday 25 December 2015. The precise number of people involved is unclear because the...
http://sciencythoughts.blogspot.co.uk/2015/11/hundreds-feared-dead-following.htmlHundreds feared dead following landslide at Myanmar jade mine.                                    One hundred and five people have now been confirmed dead and over a hundred are still thought to be missing following a landslide at a jade mine at Hpakant in Kachin State, Myanmar on Saturday...
http://sciencythoughts.blogspot.co.uk/2015/04/rockslide-kills-at-least-nine-at.htmlRockslide kills at least nine at Myanmar jade mine.                                                            Nine people have been confirmed dead and about twenty more are thought to still be missing following a rockslide on a spill heap at a jade mine at Hpakant in Kachin State, Myanmar, on Monday 20 March 2015. All the people caught in the landslide are understood...
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