CNN —A landslide at a jade mine in northern Myanmar has killed at least 32 people, a local fire services official told CNN on Wednesday.
The landslide took place in the remote and mountainous town of Hpakant in the northern state of Kachin on Sunday, said Sa Tay Za of the Hpakant Fire Service Department.
Myanmar produces about 70% of the world’s jade and Hpakant is home to some of the world’s biggest and most lucrative jade mines, worth billions of dollars.
The group estimated Myanmar’s jade industry was worth about $31 billion in 2014, nearly half of the country’s official GDP that year.
More than 160 people died after heavy rain triggered a landslide in a jade mine in Hpakant in 2020.
Persons:
CNN —, Sa Tay, Za
Organizations:
CNN, Fire Service Department, Global, Resource Governance Institute
Locations:
Myanmar, Hpakant, Kachin, China