Rescue operations are underway after at least 70 people went missing after a jade mining site was razed by a landslide in Myanmar's Kachin state on Wednesday, 22 December, news agency BBC reported.
An official at civil society group Dashi Naw Lawn indicated that no casualties were reported yet, and stated, "authorities arrived at the site around 7 am and are conducting the search," Reuters reported.
Most affected in the incident are reportedly illegal jade miners in the area – Hpakant – where a ban is imposed on mining of the gemstone. However, reports of impoverished locals flouting regulations have recurrently surfaced amidst the pandemic.
Besides the pandemic, in the background of Myanmar's military coup and their seizure of power in February, many migrants have taken to jade mining as economic pressures mount.
At least 10 illegal miners had reportedly gone missing after a landslide at a jade mine in Hpakant last week. Six were reported to be dead, Reuters reported.
Last year, over 160 casualties were reported after mining waste collapsed into a lake in what was considered one of the worst mining disasters in Hpakant.
(With inputs from BBC and Reuters.)
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