• Burmese
Tuesday, June 17, 2025
No Result
View All Result
NEWSLETTER
The Irrawaddy
30 °c
Yangon
  • Home
  • News
    • Burma
    • Politics
    • World
    • Asia
    • Myanmar’s Crisis & the World
    • Ethnic Issues
    • War Against the Junta
    • Junta Cronies
    • Conflicts In Numbers
    • Junta Watch
    • Fact Check
    • Investigation
    • Myanmar-China Watch
    • Obituaries
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Opinion
    • Commentary
    • Guest Column
    • Analysis
    • Editorial
    • Stories That Shaped Us
    • Letters
  • Junta Watch
  • Ethnic Issues
  • War Against the Junta
  • In Person
    • Interview
    • Profile
  • Books
  • Donation
  • Home
  • News
    • Burma
    • Politics
    • World
    • Asia
    • Myanmar’s Crisis & the World
    • Ethnic Issues
    • War Against the Junta
    • Junta Cronies
    • Conflicts In Numbers
    • Junta Watch
    • Fact Check
    • Investigation
    • Myanmar-China Watch
    • Obituaries
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Opinion
    • Commentary
    • Guest Column
    • Analysis
    • Editorial
    • Stories That Shaped Us
    • Letters
  • Junta Watch
  • Ethnic Issues
  • War Against the Junta
  • In Person
    • Interview
    • Profile
  • Books
  • Donation
No Result
View All Result
The Irrawaddy
No Result
View All Result
Home News Burma

More Than A Dozen Killed as Debris Mound Collapses at Mine in Hpakant

The Irrawaddy by The Irrawaddy
May 4, 2018
in Burma
Reading Time: 2 mins read
0 0
A A
Bodies of informal mine workers killed in the collapse of a slag heap are seen at a jade mine at Wai Hka village in Kachin State’s Hpakant Township on Friday. / Nyein Sitt Naing / Facebook

Bodies of informal mine workers killed in the collapse of a slag heap are seen at a jade mine at Wai Hka village in Kachin State’s Hpakant Township on Friday. / Nyein Sitt Naing / Facebook

10.5k
VIEWS
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

WAI HKA, HPAKANT, Kachin State – Fourteen people are confirmed dead, with six people injured and many more still missing after a slag heap collapsed at a jade mine in Kachin State’s Hpakant Township in northern Myanmar early Friday morning.

Between 30 and 50 people are believed to have been buried when the mound of debris from the mine collapsed at around 4 am in Wai Hka village, Seik Mu village tract.

Rescue workers had retrieved 14 bodies by Friday afternoon, according to local residents and rescue workers. A total of eight injured people were taken to Hpakant Hospital, two of whom later died of their injuries, said U Shwe Thein, the NLD chairman of Seik Mu village. Conflicting reports on the precise death toll were being published Friday evening.

RelatedPosts

Myanmar Jade Hub Burns as Junta Counteroffensive Penetrates Hpakant

Myanmar Jade Hub Burns as Junta Counteroffensive Penetrates Hpakant

June 12, 2025
1.3k
Toxic Thailand Rivers Pinned on Myanmar Mines

Toxic Thailand Rivers Pinned on Myanmar Mines

June 11, 2025
701
China Lead Mine Weighs Heavily on Myanmar’s Padaung Ethnic Group

China Lead Mine Weighs Heavily on Myanmar’s Padaung Ethnic Group

June 11, 2025
664

Ko Aung Myint San, who has been working as an informal mine worker in the jade mines for a decade, told The Irrawaddy that he was among the lucky ones, as he had decided not go to scavenging for stones on Friday morning. He said, “We usually go and wait at the worksite until the company workers take their break. Soldiers guarding the site allow us to search for stones at certain times. This morning, the cliff collapsed in a landslide.”

 

An informal mine worker, or ‘hand-picker’, shows The Irrawaddy’s reporters the site of Friday’s slag heap collapse. (Photo: Nan Lwin Hnin Pwint/ The Irrawaddy)

Home to more than 30,000 people, Wai Hka village is surrounded by mines. U Shwe Thein said Friday’s disaster occurred in an area that was once the region’s highest mountain, but which was now riddled with holes and mineshafts, some more than 1,000 feet in depth.

An officer on duty at Hpakant police station said the rescue effort was ongoing, but the search was being hampered by rain. The victims are believed to have been informal, self-employed prospectors, or “hand-pickers”, searching for pieces of jade at a site operated by a licensed company. They were not on the slag heap itself, according to the officer.

The worksites involved are Sein Shwe War Co.’s site No. 443 and Kyauk Myat Shwe Pyi Co.’s site No. 558. Many of the victims were males in their 20s. The youngest confirmed so far was 18 and the oldest 45.

Ying Hkawng, the chairman of the Green Land environmental group based in Hpakant, said, “The landslide happened when the company halted work at 4 am and the informal mine workers came to pick over the site for jade. The 14 recovered bodies are now in the hands of local funeral service operators. They will wait for three days for family members to come and retrieve the bodies. Social organizations will cremate those victims whose bodies are not claimed.”

Wai Hka village experienced a previous dumpsite collapse in May 2016, in which 12 prospectors died, 13 were injured and a number of people remain unaccounted for.

According to local residents, workers at many of Hpakant’s jade mines are at risk of being buried alive under slag heaps, some of which are hundreds of feet high. Many of the mines are secured by Myanmar military (Tatmadaw) troops and operated by companies backed by either the Tatmadaw or the Kachin Independence Army.

In March, a collapse occurred at the Kan Kham jade mine in La Maung village. The same mine was the site of a deadly landslide in November 2015 that claimed more than 100 lives.

Including Friday’s collapse, at least five such incidents have occurred at Hpakant’s slag heaps this year alone, killing dozens of scavengers searching for discarded pieces of jade.

Chit Min Tun contributed to this report.

Your Thoughts …
Tags: DisastersMiningSafety
The Irrawaddy

The Irrawaddy

...

Similar Picks:

China’s Plunder of Myanmar’s Rare Earth Wealth Threatens Global Security
Guest Column

China’s Plunder of Myanmar’s Rare Earth Wealth Threatens Global Security

by Ankit K
December 28, 2024
12.8k

The world must act now to break China’s monopoly on rare earth mining and processing and the environmental and human...

Read moreDetails
Myanmar Fuel Tycoon to Help Junta’s Oil Drilling Amid Sanctions
Junta Cronies

Myanmar Fuel Tycoon to Help Junta’s Oil Drilling Amid Sanctions

by The Irrawaddy
May 31, 2024
10.6k

The regime, which wants to exploit oil and gas reserves, says it will develop two major oil wells with technical assistance...

Read moreDetails
KIA Seizes Myanmar Junta Base in Gold, Amber Mining Hub in Kachin
War Against the Junta

KIA Seizes Myanmar Junta Base in Gold, Amber Mining Hub in Kachin

by Hein Htoo Zan
May 17, 2024
9.5k

It said it captured the Nambyu outpost in Tanai Township with the help of resistance allies after six days of...

Read moreDetails
Rare Earth Mining Taking Heavy Toll in Myanmar’s Kachin, Groups Say
Burma

Rare Earth Mining Taking Heavy Toll in Myanmar’s Kachin, Groups Say

by Hein Htoo Zan
May 27, 2024
5.3k

Amid heavy global demand for rare earths, local activists’ concerns about the impacts on the environment and local communities are...

Read moreDetails
Tin Mining in Myanmar’s Wa State Faces Prolonged Ban
Burma

Tin Mining in Myanmar’s Wa State Faces Prolonged Ban

by Hein Htoo Zan
August 7, 2023
3.6k

Mining suspension in autonomous region likely to remain in place until new safety and environmental rules are met.

Read moreDetails
Myanmar’s KIA Says Rare Earth Mining Set to Resume in Pangwa-Chipwi Area
Burma

Myanmar’s KIA Says Rare Earth Mining Set to Resume in Pangwa-Chipwi Area

by Hein Htoo Zan
November 18, 2024
2.8k

It said negotiations are under way with businessmen in Pangwa and Chipwi towns, which the KIA seized from the junta...

Read moreDetails
Load More
Next Post
SSPP/ Shan State Army-North soldiers are seen in Namkham Township, Shan State in 2013.  / Kyaw Kha / The Irrawaddy

Fighting Between Two Allied Ethnic Armies Injures Two in Northern Shan

UNSC Should Understand the Complexity and Multitude of Issues Facing Myanmar

UNSC Should Understand the Complexity and Multitude of Issues Facing Myanmar

No Result
View All Result

Recommended

Is TNLA, Under Chinese Pressure, Conceding Northern Shan Gateway to the Regime?

Is TNLA, Under Chinese Pressure, Conceding Northern Shan Gateway to the Regime?

4 days ago
1.2k
How the Myanmar Military’s Propaganda Efforts Have Evolved Over the Decades

How the Myanmar Military’s Propaganda Efforts Have Evolved Over the Decades

6 days ago
1.2k

Most Read

  • Myanmar Junta Attacks to Reclaim KIA’s Jade and Rare Earth Strongholds

    Myanmar Junta Attacks to Reclaim KIA’s Jade and Rare Earth Strongholds

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • China is Systematically Dismantling Tibetan Monastic Traditions

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • China’s Bet on Myanmar Junta Risks Backfiring

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Defusing the Thai-Cambodian Border Row

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Sagaing Region Braced for Myanmar Junta Airstrikes After Jet Crash

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0

Newsletter

Get The Irrawaddy’s latest news, analyses and opinion pieces on Myanmar in your inbox.

Subscribe here for daily updates.

Contents

  • News
  • Politics
  • War Against the Junta
  • Myanmar’s Crisis & the World
  • Conflicts In Numbers
  • Junta Crony
  • Ethnic Issues
  • Asia
  • World
  • Business
  • Economy
  • Election 2020
  • Elections in History
  • Cartoons
  • Features
  • Opinion
  • Editorial
  • Commentary
  • Guest Column
  • Analysis
  • Letters
  • In Person
  • Interview
  • Profile
  • Dateline
  • Specials
  • Myanmar Diary
  • Women & Gender
  • Places in History
  • On This Day
  • From the Archive
  • Myanmar & COVID-19
  • Intelligence
  • Myanmar-China Watch
  • Lifestyle
  • Travel
  • Food
  • Fashion & Design
  • Videos
  • Photos
  • Photo Essay
  • Donation

About The Irrawaddy

Founded in 1993 by a group of Myanmar journalists living in exile in Thailand, The Irrawaddy is a leading source of reliable news, information, and analysis on Burma/Myanmar and the Southeast Asian region. From its inception, The Irrawaddy has been an independent news media group, unaffiliated with any political party, organization or government. We believe that media must be free and independent and we strive to preserve press freedom.

  • Copyright
  • Code of Ethics
  • Privacy Policy
  • Team
  • About Us
  • Careers
  • Contact
  • Burmese

© 2023 Irrawaddy Publishing Group. All Rights Reserved

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • News
    • Burma
    • Politics
    • World
    • Asia
    • Myanmar’s Crisis & the World
    • Ethnic Issues
    • War Against the Junta
    • Junta Cronies
    • Conflicts In Numbers
    • Junta Watch
    • Fact Check
    • Investigation
    • Myanmar-China Watch
    • Obituaries
  • Politics
  • Opinion
    • Commentary
    • Guest Column
    • Analysis
    • Editorial
    • Stories That Shaped Us
    • Letters
  • Ethnic Issues
  • War Against the Junta
  • In Person
    • Interview
    • Profile
  • Business
    • Economy
    • Business Roundup
  • Books
  • Donation

© 2023 Irrawaddy Publishing Group. All Rights Reserved

This website uses cookies. By continuing to use this website you are giving consent to cookies being used. Visit our Privacy and Cookie Policy.