162 people killed in Myanmar Jade mine collapse

In Northern Myanmar, at least 162 people were killed in a landslide at a jade mine. It was 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.

Daily Current Affairs Quiz 2020

Key-Points

Hpakant is a rough and remote area in Kachin state, 950 kilometres north of Myanmar’s biggest city, Yangon. It is located on the Uyu River.

It is famous for its jade mines which produce the world’s best quality jadeite.

The term landslide or less frequently, landslip, refers to several forms of mass wasting that include a wide range of ground movements, such as rockfalls, deep-seated slope failures, mudflows, and debris flows.

Landslides occur in a variety of environments, characterized by either steep or gentle slope gradients, from mountain ranges to coastal cliffs or even underwater, in which case they are called submarine landslides.

Gravity is the primary driving force for a landslide to occur, but there are other factors affecting slope stability that produce specific conditions that make a slope prone to failure.

In many cases, the landslide is triggered by a specific event (such as a heavy rainfall, an earthquake, a slope cut to build a road, and many others), although this is not always identifiable.