83 Miners Buried in Tibet Landslide

A massive landslide, which buried 83 miners occurred in Maizhokunggar County, east of Lhasa, the regional capital, in Tibet last Friday morning.

As reported by state news agency Xinhua, hope is dim for survivors to be found due to heavy snowfall in the said region, minor landslides and altitude sickness of rescuers.

Due to cold temperatures falling to -3 degrees Celsius or 26 degrees Fahrenheit, sniffer dogs’ sense of smell have been hindered resulting to failure to trace trapped miners.

Equipment had been moved in and roads widened to help the recovery efforts. The rescue efforts include about 3,500 rescuers, 300 large-scale pieces of machinery and 10 search dogs.

The area is a gold mine in the Tibet Autonomous Region which is located 4, 600 meters or 15, 092 feet.

The landslide struck early morning of Friday last week, burying a workers’ camp near the mine.

The mine is owned by an affiliate of China National Gold Group Corp., a state-controlled company that bills itself as China’s biggest gold producer.

The Hong Kong- and Canada-listed affiliate, China Gold International Resources Corp., CGG.T +1.59%, which was in the middle of a financial roadshow when the catastrophe appened, said the landslide hit an exploration area around its Jiama mine.

It is operated by a wholly owned local subsidiary, Tibet Huatailong Mining Development Co. Ltd., in Tibet’s Pu Lang Valley near Lhasa City.

The landslide extended three kilometers (almost two miles) and was made up of about 2 million cubic meters (2.6 million cubic yards) of mud, rock and other debris, according to Xinhua.

Source: cnn.com, online.wsj.com