Authorities have retrieved the bodies of 33 individuals from a tragic landslide that occurred at a jade mine in northern Myanmar. Rescue efforts are currently underway to locate at least three more individuals who are believed to be missing, according to a rescue official who provided updates on Wednesday.
The devastating landslide took place on Sunday in Hpakant, a key hub within the world’s largest and most lucrative jade mining region. A massive mass of earth and debris from multiple mines cascaded down a 300-meter (1,000-foot) cliff into a lake below, resulting in the unfortunate entrapment of over 35 miners.
A team of approximately 150 rescuers, employing five small boats, have been diligently working to recover the victims from the muddy waters of the lake situated in Manna village within Hpakant. This remote and mountainous town is located in Kachin state, approximately 950 kilometers (600 miles) north of Myanmar’s major city, Yangon. The head of a local rescue unit shared that while many bodies have been retrieved, at least three people remain unaccounted for.
The rescue team leader chose to remain anonymous due to concerns about potential repercussions from the military-led government.
The recovered bodies have been shrouded in green plastic sheets and arranged in a row along the lake’s bank, where grieving relatives have come to claim them for cremation. Tragically, all of the victims identified thus far are men.
A miner who lost two family members revealed that local authorities have provided around 700,000 kyats ($330) per victim as a contribution toward funeral expenses.
Hpakant’s jade mines experience landslides multiple times each year. In a distressing incident in July 2020, at least 162 people lost their lives in a landslide within the same vicinity. Another tragedy occurred in November 2015, resulting in the deaths of 113 individuals.
The majority of casualties tend to be independent miners who inhabit areas near enormous mounds of discarded soil generated by heavy machinery utilized by mining corporations. These miners scavenge for fragments of jade and often reside and work within abandoned mining pits at the base of these mounds. The pits can become highly unstable during the rainy season.
The scavengers are often unregistered migrants from various regions, rendering it challenging to precisely ascertain the number of missing individuals following such calamities.
Human rights activists assert that jade mining serves as a significant revenue source for Myanmar’s military-led government. Critics of the military regime advocate for sanctions and boycotts aimed at reducing jade sales.
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Jade mining also intersects with the ongoing struggle of ethnic Kachin rebel factions in Myanmar, who are seeking increased autonomy. Presently, the region finds itself embroiled in an armed conflict between the Kachin Independence Army and the military forces, forcing many civilians into displacement camps located in nearby townships.
