UPDATE 2 - Jade mine landslide kills over 110 in northern Myanmar

UPDATES DEATH TOLL; REVISES LEDE; ADDS DETAILS, QUOTE FROM RESCUE WORKER

By Kyaw Ye Lynn

YANGON, Myanmar (AA) - More than 100 miners were killed in a landslide at a jade mine in northern Myanmar, the country’s emergency services reported on Thursday.

The landslide in the state of Kachin was caused by heavy rain, triggering a "muddy wave" which buried the miners, the Fire Service said on Facebook.

The miners were collecting jade stones in Hpakantarea township, it added.

"162 bodies were recovered on Thursday,” said the statement from the department, adding that 54 people were injured due to the landslide.

Search and rescue efforts are continuing, it added.

A volunteer rescue worker however told Anadolu Agency that search and rescue operation was halted since Thursday evening due to the fear of further landslides.

“There is no way we could rescue them because they were buried and killed by the mud. The best thing we can do is to find the dead bodies. It was however deterred by the potential further landslide,” said the man in a condition of anonymity.

The Myanmar government on June 26 imposed a three-month mining ban in Hpakant township to avoid the deaths caused by landslides, which are common during the rainy season.

Tint Soe, a lawmaker representing the area, told Anadolu Agency that victims were migrant workers who come in hope of finding precious stones.

“Mining companies halt operations due to the ban but workers risk their lives," he said over phone. "The landslide occurred near old mining plots, where more than 200 workers were present."

Two landslides, in which at least two people were killed, occurred before the ban, Soe said.

The July 2 accident is the deadliest to hit the jade-rich area, the worst in a series of deadly accidents at such sites in recent years that critics blame on the government's failure to take action against unsafe conditions.

At least 114 people were killed in one of the deadliest collapses in November 2015.

* Islamuddin Sajid from Islamabad, Pakistan contributed to this story.