MOSCOW (Sputnik) - More than 100 people are missing and around 10 others are thought to be dead following a jade mine landslide in the township of Hpakant in Kachin, the northernmost state of Myanmar, the news organisation Irrawaddy posted on Twitter on Wednesday.
Myanmar's jade mines have faced a number of accidents over the past several years. The country produces around 90% of the world's jade supply, however, its mining is banned in the Hpakant region. This is usually overlooked by locals who are driven by lack of employment and impoverishment that have worsened since the start of the pandemic.
In July 2020, the township witnessed one of its worst jade mine incidents when over 170 people died after mining waste collapsed into a lake.