NAYPYITAW, 23 December 2021, (TON): According to a civil society group and media reports “dozens of people are feared missing after a landslide early today at a jade mine in northern Myanmar.”

An official at the Kachin Network Development Foundation said “the landslide in the Hpakant area of Kachin State happened at around 4am (2130 GMT on Tuesday) and there were fears that about 80 people had been swept into a lake by mining waste.”

Dashi Naw Lawn, an official at the civil society group said by telephone "authorities arrived at the site around 7 am and are conducting the search.”

He added that no dead bodies had been found up to now.

 Local media also reported dozens appeared to be missing in the incident in Hpakant, which is the centre of Myanmar's secretive jade industry. In another landslide last weekend, media reported at least six people died.

Deadly landslides and other accidents are common in the poorly regulated mines of Hpakant, which draw impoverished workers from across Myanmar in search of gems mostly for export to China.