Four people, including two minors, have died in a landslip at a quarry on the outskirts of the city of Aizawl in Mizoram State, India. The incident happened at about 7.30 am local time on Saturday 12 May 2018, when the four were working at the quarry, which is reported to be owned by local businessman John Halliday. The deceased have been named as Munga, 40, Linda Zodinpuii, 32, and her daughters Linda Hmingthianghlimi, 14, and Lalremzovi Zodinpuii, 10.
Rescue workers searching the scene of a landslip at a quarry in Aizawl. Mizoram, on 12 May 2018. Henry Khojol/Telegraph India.
Mizoram does not have a well developed mining industry, although it is thought to have deposits of metals, coal and other potentially commercial deposits, as it is remote from the main centres of industry in India, making it hard to export the produce of any large-scale mining operation, and presenting difficulties obtaining reliable power for such an industry. However a number of products are excavated locally, such as sandstone and limestone for use in construction and clay for the ceramics industry. As such mining operations that do exist tend to be small scale, locally owned and poorly regulated, with the industry known to have low safety standards and prone to illegal activities such as unlicensed extraction (which usually also implies no outside safety inspections) and the employment of minors (the employment of children under 14 in the mining industry is illegal in India.
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