Landslide of jade mining waste kills at least 13 in Myanmar

Baku. 6 May. REPORT.AZ/ At least 13 people have been killed by a landslide of jade mining waste in northern Myanmar, a hospital said Friday. More people may still be buried under the waste, Report informs referring to the Associated Press.

The accident occurred late Thursday in Hpakant, the center of Myanmar's lucrative jade mining industry in Kachin state.

Jade is mined with heavy equipment that leaves behind small pieces in waste soil that is piled into huge mounds. People who settle near the mounds to scavenge pieces from the towering piles are at risk when landslides occur.

Sai Nyunt Lwin of the Hpakant township hospital said 13 bodies had been brought there from Seng Tawng jade mining village.

More than 100 people were killed in a similar landslide last November, the worst such accident in recent memory.