At least ten jade miners are missing and ten others injured after a landslide struck a mine in Hpakant Township, Kachin State, late on Monday night. The collapse occurred in Kuday Hmaw village, a remote area long associated with Myanmar’s jade industry, and has once again highlighted the dangers of unregulated mining.

Local residents reported that around 20 miners were caught in the slide, with half managing to escape. Search and rescue teams have struggled to reach those trapped, as tonnes of mining waste buried the site. The injured have been taken to Hpakant Hospital, while police say the exact number of missing remains unconfirmed.

Videos from the scene show crowds using torches to comb through debris, with a barrier lake visible below the collapsed slope. Witnesses described chaotic rescue efforts hampered by the scale of the disaster. Around 50 people were believed to be working at the mine when the landslide hit.

Hpakant, located northwest of Myitkyina, is notorious for deadly accidents linked to jade extraction. Since the 2021 military coup, residents say companies have operated heavy machinery around the clock, leaving waste piles unmanaged. In December 2021, hundreds of miners were killed in one of the region’s worst landslides.

The jade industry in Kachin State is both lucrative and perilous, drawing thousands of workers despite the risks. Environmental degradation, poor safety standards and political instability have compounded the dangers. Monday’s collapse adds to a grim record of tragedies in Hpakant, underscoring the urgent need for tighter regulation and safer practices in Myanmar’s mining sector.

-2026-02-18

Many of these mining operations in Burma are run either by the military or by Chinese companies, neither of which have much regard for human life or safety, and my heart goes out to these guys who must be working under incredibly dangerous and absolutely horrendous conditions for minimal wages.

Very unlike a place like Australia where a miner might have to face the hazards, but he's being paid huge amounts of money.