94 killed in Myanmar landslide

Rescuers recovered at least 94 bodies a day after a landslide struck a habitation at a jade mine in Myanmar's Kachin state, officials said on Sunday.

The landslide occurred in the wee hours of Saturday in Hpakant, a region that produces some of the highest-quality jade in the world.

It buried about 80 huts where local miners were sleeping, Xinhua news agency reported.

A rescue operation was underway at the site and, with a number of people reported missing, the toll was expected to rise, the Global New Light of Myanmar daily said.

Migrant miners of five small companies were searching for jade in piles of waste soil on the mountainside, the daily added.

Residents said five similar incidents took place in the same area earlier this year.

Myanmar is the source of much of the world's finest jade, a nearly translucent green stone that is highly valued in neighbouring China.