1st LD: Death toll rises to 113 in Myanmar landslide
Xinhua, November 23, 2015 Adjust font size:
The death toll rose to 113 after nine more bodies were recovered on Monday, three days after a giant amount of dump soil from a jade mine collapsed in Myanmar's northernmost Kachin State.
Most victims of the deadly landslide were ethnic people, a local police officer told Xinhua.
The landslide, which occurred before dawn on Friday, buried about 80 households in Sankhatku village in Hpakant town when local miners were sleeping near the dump soil.
About 100 local miners were said to be staying at the base of the dump soil.
Many more people were still unaccounted for as a search and rescue operation was continuing at the site with 14 bulldozers.
The Hpakant administration has declared some mines in the town including the one where the tragedy happened as risk areas.
Migrant miners from five small companies were searching for jade in piles of waste soil around the mountainside.
Residents said at least five similar incidents took place in the same area this year. Enditem