1 dead, 2 missing in latest jade mine landslide in N. Myanmar

One miner has been confirmed dead and two others have gone missing in a landslide in Myanmar's northernmost Kachin State.

The landslide occurred in a dump soil site near Hpa-kant jade mining area, according to an official report Wednesday.

Last November, some 121 people died in a similar incident which also happened in the area.

Following last year's deadly landslide, the authorities have relocated 108 migrant miners living there to safer places.

A total of nine similar incidents occurred in the area in 2015.

When miners began using heavy machinery to extract jade from mines in Myanmar in 2005, migrant workers across the country flocked to the area to scavenge small jade stones from discarded mine soil.

There are now around 200,000 squatters in Hpa-kant Township.

According to official figures as of Nov. 30, 2015, 627 mining companies had been allowed to mine on 7,714 plots, while another 231 companies were mining through a win-win business system on 311 plots.

Mining plots cover an area of more than 9,134 hectares in the township.

Prior to 2000, the authorities practiced a production-sharing system with mining companies, gaining 25 percent income from the sales apart from tax. Endit