In this photo released from Myanmar Fire Service Department, rescuers carry a recovered body of a victim.
YANGON, July 3 (NNN-AGENCIES) — At least 162 people are dead in a mine collapse caused by a landslide in Myanmar, multiple outlets report.
Early Thursday morning, a 20-foot-high rush of mud and water flowed out of a mine that had taken on rainwater, expelled by a landslide and drowning miners illegally scouring for jade. The area has endured weeks of heavy rain and monsoons.
Officials said at least 162 bodies were recovered from the site.
“The jade miners were smothered by a wave of mud,” the Myanmar Fire Service Department confirmed in a statements.
One 38-year-old miner said he witnessed the incident, taking photos of the mass of land that looked dangerously close to collapsing, quickly proving that correct as onlookers yelled for everyone to “run!”s.
“Within a minute, all the people at the bottom just disappeared,” the witness said. “I feel empty in my heart. I still have goose bumps. … There were people stuck in the mud shouting for help but no one could help them.”
Rescuers expect the death toll to reach 200 as teams work to uncover victims.
The Fire Service said 54 injured people were taken to the hospital.
In a statement after the incident, Global Witness, a worldwide watchdog dedicated to improving human rights, called Thursday’s situation a “preventable tragedy” and called for “rigorous reforms of the jade sector.”
“The government has turned a blind eye to continued illicit and rapacious mining practices in Hpakant despite vowing to reform the hazardous sector,” said Paul Donowitz, campaign leader at Global Witness.
“The longer the government waits to introduce rigorous reforms of the jade sector, the more lives will be lost,” Donowitz added. “This was an entirely preventable tragedy that should serve as an urgent wake-up call for the government,”
The region’s government had earlier ordered that the mines remain closed between July 1 and Sept 30 due to heavy rains. The miners on location Thursday were freelance workers filling in regardless of the dangers.
“The government ordered them to stop because it is dangerous to work here in the rainy season,” U Tin Soe, the region’s representative in Parliament,saids. “But after the mining companies stopped, an illegal ethnic armed group took money from the illegal miners and gave them permission to work here.”
Tin Soe added: “If people continue working, there will surely be more landslides and death. But there is no rule of law in this area — that’s why it’s difficult to control.” — NNN-AGENCIES
