Myanmar jade mine landslide leaves at least 113 dead

At least 113 people have been killed in a landslide at a jade mining site in northern Myanmar, according to local officials.

Rescue workers are continuing to search for people still missing at the site in the Hpakant area of Kachin state after Thursday's incident.

The landslide took place after a bout of heavy rainfall, the Myanmar Fire Services Department said on Facebook.

"The jade miners were smothered by a wave of mud," the statement said.

Khin Maung Myint, a local legislator, said 54 injured people had been taken to hospital.

The website of 7Day News Journal reported earlier that 200 people were unaccounted for.

Maung Khaing, a 38-year-old miner, told Reuters news agency that he saw a towering pile of waste close to collapse and people were shouting "run, run".

He said: "Within a minute, all the people at the bottom [of the hill] just disappeared. I feel empty in my heart... There were people stuck in the mud shouting for help but no-one could help them."

The area is 600 miles north of Burma’s biggest city, Yangon, and is the centre of the world’s biggest and most lucrative jade mining industry.

Accidents at such mining sites causing multiple casualties are not rare.

The victims are normally freelance miners who settle near giant mounds of discarded earth that has been mined in bulk by heavy machinery.

The miners who scavenge for bits of jade usually work and live at the base of the mounds of earth, which become particularly unstable during the rainy season.