70 missing after landslide in Myanmar

Yangon, April 9: Some 70 people were reported missing following a landslide in a jade mining area in Phakant in Myanmar’s northern Kachin state, media said on Thursday. The bank of a 15.25-metre-high jade mining burrow of Myayamone Co. Ltd. near Lonekhin village in Phakant collapsed on Wednesday.

Along with the victims, 30 heavy digging machines were also buried at the spot, according to Xinhua news agency. The victims, who were living in makeshift huts near the jade mining area, are mostly miners or peddlers.

Hundreds of companies are involved in jade mining work in the area. A similar landslide occurred in the same township at the end of March, killing nine people.  (IANS)