Residents of Pang War town in Kachin State have reported around 50 miners are missing, following a landslide at a rare-earth mine controlled by Kachin Special Region No. 1 Chairman U Zahkung Ting Ying and his son.
The landslide occurred around midnight on June 19, at the mine adjacent to the militia training school near Par Tai Haw village, approximately a 15-minute motorcycle ride from Pang War.
"About 50 people, including miners and cooks, are missing in the landslide. The cause of the mine collapse is currently unknown”, a local witness told KNG.
The collapsed rare-earth mine is controlled by U Zahkung Ting Ying and his son, Zahkung Ying Sau, according to locals.
As search and rescue operations continue following the collapse, security around the mine is tight, and communication with the outside world is cut off, leaving the list of missing people and the status of casualties unknown.
“Currently there is no information available. The mine that collapsed belongs to the Chairman and his son. We expect to have details on the casualties within the next two or three days”, the aforementioned source added.
On June 4, a rare-earth mine operated by Myanmar Myo Ko Ko Company, located 5 miles from Pang War, collapsed, resulting in the deaths of around 20 miners. However, the June 19 incident is expected to be recorded as the largest mining accident ever experienced in the region in terms of casualties.
According to a May 23 report from Global Witness, an organization that monitors international resource mining, and has documented the lack of safety for miners in rare-earth mining areas of Chipwi and Pang War. The Global Witness investigation on Myanmar mineral resources reported these areas controlled by Junta-allied militia forces and the Border Guard Force (BGF), increased by 40 percent in 2023 compared to 2021.
There are over 300 mines of varying sizes. In 2023, the export value of rare-earth metals from Myanmar to China totaled 1.4 billion USD, as reported by the Chinese Customs Department.
