RESCUERS have retrieved two more bodies in northern Myanmar today, after a landslide at an illegally run jade mine happened, and warned that many others feared missing are likely dead.

Scores die working in the lucrative but poorly regulated jade trade in the country each year, which sees low-paid migrant workers scrape out gems highly coveted in neighbouring China.

Rescuers pulled two more bodies from a nearby lake today, taking the confirmed death toll to three after one casualty was found the previous day before the operation was cut short due to fog and overnight rain.

Authorities had initially said at least 70 individuals are feared missing after the landslide struck early yesterday, but added that they are still confirming the number of those unaccounted for.

They said one of the victims, a 23-year-old man, came from Yinmar Pin, hundreds of kilometres away in central Myanmar.

Miners come to Hpakant from across the country to scratch a living picking through piles of waste left by industrial mining firms in hopes of finding an overlooked hunk of jade.

Myanmar Rescue Organisation member Ko Jack said the weather has cleared, adding that six rescue teams are searching for any survivor.

“The search is going fine, without difficulty as it is sunny now.”

But rescuer Ko Nyi said the outlook is grim.

“If the dead bodies do not float today, they will appear in the following days.”

Hundreds of diggers return to the township to prospect in the treacherous open-cast mines during the rainy season, according to a local activist.

Rescuers said increased pressure from the weight of dumped soil and rock has pushed the ground downhill into the nearby lake.

‘Haunting reminder’

The incident is the latest tragedy to hit the poorly regulated multibillion-dollar industry.

Jade and other abundant natural resources in Myanmar – including amber, gold and timber – have helped finance both sides of a decades-long civil war between ethnic Kachin insurgents and the military.

Civilians are frequently trapped in the middle of the fight for control of the mines and their lucrative revenues, with a rampant arms and drugs trade further curdling the conflict.

Last year, heavy rainfall triggered a massive landslide in Hpakant, burying nearly 300 miners.

Watchdog Global Witness had estimated the industry was worth US$31 billion (RM130 billion) in 2014. But corruption means very little reaches state coffers.

A Global Witness report earlier this year said the February military coup effectively extinguished any chance of reform to the dangerous and unregulated industry initiated by the civilian government of ousted leader Aung San Suu Kyi.

The coup has also sparked fighting in Kachin state between local insurgents and the Myanmar military, the watchdog said.

This disaster “is a haunting reminder that lives too often come second to profit in the jade mines of Hpakant,” said Global Witness senior campaigner for Myanmar Hanna Hindstrom.

“As the military is busy turning the sector into a financial lifeline for its illegitimate regime, once again miners are paying the ultimate price.”

A five-day junta-run jade emporium “successfully concluded” yesterday, according to state-backed Global New Light of Myanmar newspaper, adding that all jade lots on sale have been sold to domestic and international buyers. – AFP, December 23, 2021.