Date | 28 July 2019 |
---|---|
Location | Hpakant, Kachin State, Myanmar |
Coordinates | 25°36′46″N98°18′41″W / 25.61278°N 98.31139°W |
Deaths | 17+ |
Missing | Unknown |
In the early morning of July 28, 2019, a landslide in a Hpakant jade mine killed at least 17 people, leaving others missing and two injured. The people killed were workers from Yarzahtarni Jade Mining Company, local police, and others unaffiliated with the mine. [1] [2]
Because of Myanmar's monsoon season, the government had previously ordered all mines in Hpakant to cease operation. [2] [1] However, several of the workers from Yarzahtarni Jade company were still sleeping in tents below the mine. [2] According to local residents, there were also still people looking through the tailings of the mine, trying to find jade discarded by the miners. To prevent illegal mine activity, the government had stationed police officers at the mine. [1] The policemen were also sleeping in tents below the mine, near the workers. [2]
According to the local police, the area had experienced a lot of heavy rain in the week leading up to the collapse. Shortly after midnight on July 28, a landslide occurred, [1] and at approximately 2:20 am MMT, the mine collapsed onto the workers and police sleeping below. [1] [2]
Two policemen were injured and required hospital attention. [2] [1] Initially, the bodies of 14 miners were recovered after the collapse, including the body of one police officer. [1] Later in the day, the total dead was updated to 17, with the death and missing tolls still expected to rise. [2]
Rescue efforts were organized by Myanmar police, who were assisted by the Thinkhar Philanthropic Society, a charity organization. [2]
State Minister for Natural Resources and Environmental Conservation U La Sai ordered signs to be placed by the mining companies, warning that landslides could occur, and for local government to inspect the mines and make sure that they followed all safety precautions. [2] According to Hpakant Director Kyaw Swa Aung, the workers had been in the mine to protect it at the instruction of the mine owners. [3]
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On 21 November 2015, a major landslide in Hpakant, Kachin State, northern Myanmar killed at least 116 people near a jade mine, with around 100 more missing.
On 26 February 2019, an illegal gold mine collapsed in Bolaang Mongondow Regency, North Sulawesi, Indonesia. At least 29 people were killed and dozens more were trapped due to the collapse.
On 22 April 2019, a landslide triggered the collapse of a jade mine near Maw Wun Kalay, Hpakant, Kachin State, Myanmar, trapping at least 54 miners. The deaths of four miners were confirmed, along with the later deaths of two rescue workers. The remaining miners are presumed to be dead.
Events of 2020 in Myanmar.
On 2 July 2020, a major landslide at the Wai Khar jade mining site in the Hpakant area of Kachin State, Myanmar, killed between 175 and 200 miners in the country's deadliest-ever mining accident. At 06:30 local time (MMT) heavy rains triggered the collapse of a heap of mining waste, which came tumbling down into a lake. This generated a 6.1-meter (20 ft) wave of mud and water that buried those working at the Wai Khar mine. The miners killed or injured by the landslide were independent "jade pickers", who scavenge tailings from larger operators and who live in ramshackle quarters at the base of large mounds of rubble.
An earthquake struck Pakistan's province of Balochistan near the city of Harnai on 7 October 2021. The moment magnitude 5.9 Mww quake struck in the early morning at 03:01 local time, killing at least 42 people and injuring 300 others. The earthquake occurred just one day before the anniversary of the 2005 Kashmir earthquake.
On December 22, 2021, a landslide occurred at a jade mine in the township of Hpakant in Kachin State, Myanmar. The landslide killed at least three people, and left at least 70 to 100 missing.
Events in the year 2023 in Myanmar.
On 13 August 2023, a landslide killed at least 33 miners at a jade mine in Hpakant, Myannmar.