Families mourn as Myanmar jade mine disaster kills more than 170

Sub-title: 

Rescue operations continue for a fourth day in the country's worst ever jade mine landslide, as more bodies are buried.

Description: 

"Aye Mon, 30, is left alone with a two-year-old daughter after her husband and younger brother died in Myanmar's worst jade mine landslide that killed more than 170 people on Thursday. In hopes of finding gems that might transform his future, her brother, Shwe Moe Tun, 22, had travelled more than 600km (370 miles) from his village in Monywa to Hpakant area of Kachin state in northern Myanmar, home to a secretive billion-dollar jade industry. "My husband had been working in the jade mining business for more than 10 years. But it was the first time for my brother. It was his second working day in the mine," Aye Mon told Al Jazeera. At least 40 jade pickers killed in the disaster at Wai Khar mine were buried on Saturday, the country's fire services department said on their Facebook page, while 77 others were interred in a mass grave on Friday. Many more were cremated according to Buddhist traditions. Rescue operations were still ongoing for the fourth day on Sunday as bodies of the victims were still being recovered from the site of the accident..."

Creator/author: 

Cape Diamond, Shereena Qazi

Source/publisher: 

"Al Jazeera" (Qatar)

Date of Publication: 

2020-07-06

Date of entry: 

2020-07-06

Grouping: 

  • Individual Documents

Category: 

Countries: 

Myanmar

Administrative areas of Burma/Myanmar: 

Kachin State

Language: 

English

Resource Type: 

text

Text quality: 

    • Good