Four people were killed and one person was seriously injured when a gem mine collapsed on Wednesdya in Sri Lanka, police said.
Police told Xinhua that the accident occurred at Ratnapura, some 100 km southeast of Colombo, when five employees of a gem mining company were at work searching for gems.
Four of them were killed on the spot while the injured was rushed to the Ratnapura Hospital for treatment.Police have launched an investigation.
Ratnapura is known as the "City of Gems" in Sri Lanka and it is the centre of a long-established industry of precious stone mining, including the country's famous rubies, sapphires and other gems.
