Dozens feared missing after Myanmar landslide

By Riyaz ul Khaliq

ISTANBUL (AA) – Dozens of people are missing after a landslide hit a town in the Southeast Asian country of Myanmar on Wednesday.

The incident occurred in the Hpakant township in the northern Kachin state at around 4 a.m. (2130GMT Tuesday night).

“More than 100 vendors and prospectors are missing,” the Irrawaddy news website tweeted.

It was the second landslide since last Sunday.

"The landslide left over 80 people missing, and the rescue operation is being carried out,” U Kyaw Min, a village administration office official, told Chinese Xinhua News.

It said the landslide occurred at a jade mining site.

Dozens of rescuers are working to recover people missing in the landslide, including those who may have drowned in a nearby lake.

The township is prone to landslides, with 174 people killed in a major catastrophe last July.