A landslide at a jade mine in Waykha village, Seikmu village-tracts, Phakant, Kachin State, killed five yaymasay illegal jade pickers and injured two.
Similarly another landslide at Jade Land Company and private jade mine No. 53 near Maw Mawng Bum village on January 4 killed six yaymasay jade pickers, and one was injured.
A freelance reporter added that torrential rain and mine explosions triggered the landslide which killed them.
Naw Lorn from Kachin National Social Development Organization (KNSDO) said that the jade pickers killed in landslides at jade worksites did not receive compensation for their deaths and there was no organisation for them to help them in getting such compensation.
“Torrential rain, unsystematic dumping of earth waste and careless landfilling after digging in jade mining caused these deaths. There are no organisations to help the families of those killed in landslides for getting compensations from the jade companies. The families of the deceased and villagers have to bury their loved ones by themselves.”
Landslides at jade mines in Phakant frequently kill jade pickers and a landslide which occurred in November 2015 killed over 100.
