Dozens feared dead after landslide in Kachin State

30 December 2016
Dozens feared dead after landslide in Kachin State
A landslide at Hpakant Township of northern Kachin on 28 December 2016. Photo: MOI

Dozens of people are missing and feared dead after a landslide hit a remote jade mining region in Myanmar’s restive Kachin State, the Anadolu Agency reported on 30 December, quoting officials.
The landslide occurred late Wednesday when a 400-foot (122-meter) cliff of debris and waste soil collapsed in Hpakant Township of northern Kachin.
Tin Tun Aung, a local police officer, told the Anadolu Agency that a rescue team started search operations Thursday morning by digging up the landslide.
According to the Myanmar Red Cross Society, more than 300 people were killed in 38 landslides at jade mines in Kachin last year, the report said.