At least 104 people were killed in northern Myanmar when a huge hill of tailings from a jade mine collapsed onto the huts of sleeping workers, according to state-run media.
The collapse of the roughly 60-meter-high (200-foot-high) mound took place at about 3 a.m. Saturday in Hpakant, in Myanmar’s northern state of Kachin, the Global New Light of Myanmar newspaper reported.
Seventy huts containing sleeping workers were buried in the slide, with only five huts spared, according to the newspaper.
The military was working with local residents in rescue and recovery efforts, it reported Monday, warning that many more people remain missing.
The area produces some of the world’s highest quality jade, a nearly translucent green stone that is highly valued in neighboring China.
Many workers, typically migrants from other parts of the country, eke out a livelihood in the shadow of the mines by sifting through their tailings for leftover jade, the newspaper said.
