The unpredictable weather says it all- Many continue to remain missing, after a landslide occurs at a jade mine in Myanmar’s northern Kachin state, the state media reports in their latest telecast.
At least around 104 bodies have now been recovered, with some other rough estimates stating that there still remain another 100 people to be missing. The incident comes in sight when a large quantity of mining debris collapsed, immediately engulfing the homes of some miners in Hpakant, on Sunday. However, ambiguity remains as to what triggered the landslide in the region. Kachin is stated to produce some of the most fine qualities of jade in the world.
Many of the dead were people who made their living on meagre necessities, barely living a hand-to-mouth existence, relying on the nearby dumps and searching through the debris in the hope of finding minute quantities of jade to sell.
Officials state that some areas had been actually ‘designated’ to be at risk of landslides, including the place of this mishap, and notices had been repeatedly issued to the miners to re-locate from there, remarked state-owned The Global New Light of Myanmar.
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