2019 Hpakant jade mine collapse

At 11:30pm MMT, a mud-filled pond at a jade mine in Hpakant collapsed.[1] The mud and tailings in the pond buried miners below it in up to 100 feet (30.5 metres) of mud.[5] At the time, the miners were asleep in their residences, which were located below the mine.[6]

Rescue efforts were started on April 23, the morning after the collapse.[2] The efforts were coordinated by the local government and welfare organizations. According to Tin Soe, a politician representing the area, removing the mud "could cost millions of dollars."[5] Four bodies were recovered.[3] The search for more miners was cancelled on April 26, after another landslide killed two of the rescue workers.[4]

In response to the collapse, the acting UN Resident Coordinator to Myanmar called on the country to implement new safety legislation to protect mine workers.[3] The natural resource minister of Kachin said that he would take action against mining companies involved in the incident,[7] and said that he wanted mining companies to work to improve the safety of their mines.[8] The Myanmar central government suspended operations in seventeen mine blocks in Hapakant, affecting eleven companies.[9]

• Hpakant jade mine disaster
• Jade trade in Myanmar