Over 7 company workers and stone miners killed in landslide in Hpakant

A landslide occurred again this morning in a jade mining block located between Nam Hmaw village and Kaw San village, in the Seik Moo village tract of Hpakant, Kachin State, with local residents reporting that no less than seven company workers and stone miners were buried and died under the debris. It is understood that the landslide occurred suddenly around 9:30 AM today, July 3rd, at a company mining block near Sein Lone, between Nam Hmaw and Kaw San villages, while company workers were mining for jade. "Two bulldozers were buried. After digging for about ten times, the bodies of four people were recovered. As far as we know now, about seven people were involved," a local source told the Irrawaddy Times. Early local reports indicated that the landslide buried the excavators used for stone mining, and about seven company workers and stone miners working within the block were buried under the debris, with at least five people confirmed dead. It is understood that rescue teams and local residents are currently working intensely to search and rescue the bodies and injured individuals trapped under the debris by digging through the earth. In the Hpakant region, landslides from carelessly dumped earth piles like this frequently occur during the rainy season, leading to fatalities. In Hpakant, continuous heavy rainfall in recent days has caused landslides to occur consecutively due to unstable ground, and another landslide occurred on June 28th at "Ton Se Mou" in Nam Hmaw village. In that incident, about 10 people searching for jade by washing were reported missing, and the bodies of seven of them were recovered.