30 people missing in mine landslide in Kachin State

At least 30 miners are missing following a landslide at a rare earth mine near the town of Pangwa in Kachin State’s Chipwe Township on Thursday, according to local sources. A woman who lives in the area told Myanmar Now that rescue efforts are still underway at the mine, which is located about a 30-minute drive from Pangwa. “The landslide was caused by the heavy rains. I heard around 30 people are missing, but I don’t know the details. They are working very hard to find them now. It took around two weeks the last time this happened,” said the woman. She added that the mine is in operation both day and night, even during the rainy season. Earlier this month, another landslide in the same area killed at least five people, including two Chinese nationals. The area is located on Myanmar’s border with China. The Pangwa area of Chipwe Township is known as Kachin Special Region 1, which is controlled by a junta-aligned militia led by ageing warlord Zakhung Ting Ying. Over the past decade, the area has become a major source of rare earth metals, most of it mined by Chinese companies for use in the production of electric vehicles and other “green” technology. Locals say that in addition to the danger of landslides posed by the mines, chemicals used in the mining process have badly damaged the environment. According to UK-based watchdog group Global Witness, mining activity near Pangwa has increased dramatically since the military seized power in a coup in 2021. There are currently more than 300 mining sites in the area, the group said in a report released last month, citing satellite imagery. The rare earth industry in Myanmar was worth around $1.4 billion in 2023, according to the watchdog. Kachin Special Region 1 was formed by a previous military regime in 1990 after it signed a ceasefire with Zakhung Ting Ying’s New Democratic Army – Kachin (NDA-K) the year before. The NDA-K was founded in 1989 following the collapse of the Communist Party of Burma, which Zakhung Ting Ying joined in 1968 after defecting from the Kachin Independence Army. In 2010, the NDA-K became a Border Guard Force under the command of Myanmar’s military.

30 people missing in mine landslide in Kachin State

It is the second fatal landslide this month near Pangwa, a militia-controlled area that has seen a rapid growth in unregulated mining since the coup

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