Xieng Khuang calls off search for 7 people missing in land collapse

Xieng Khuang provincial authorities have ended their search for seven people who are missing after the ground collapsed as they were drilling for gold.
It is assumed that they were buried when the ground caved in. Authorities say it is too dangerous to continue the search because of the risk that more ground in the hilltop area could give way.
Deputy Governor of Phoukout district, Mr Soulisa Chanthapanya, told a media conference held in the province that authorities judged the situation to be too risky because of the unstable terrain, so they called off the search for the seven missing people.

The group, including one woman, was digging for gold illegally on July 18 when the incident occurred.
They had drilled about 10 metres deep when the ground collapsed, an official from the province’s Department of Information, Culture and Tourism told Vientiane Times.
The accident followed many days of rain and it was probably the soft ground that caused the ground to cave in, he added.
Authorities asked local residents to drill down and try to locate the bodies of the seven missing people, but the search has now been called off.
Meanwhile, authorities have advised people to end the illicit practice of drilling for gold. Such activities have been occurring for a long time in Xieng Khuang and authorities have been trying to stop people from continuing the dangerous operation.
Every year, landslides occur in the mountainous northern provinces after heavy rain, causing damage to roads, farmland and houses.
In July 2017, a couple and their four children were killed in a landslide in Samphan district, Phongsaly province, following two weeks of rainfall.
In September 2017, three men died in a landslide while riding their motorbikes past a steep hill in Maed district, Vientiane province. The landslide occurred after almost four days of rain.
In 2013, some 16 people were killed by floods and landslides in Oudomxay province.

By  Phomphong Laoin
(Latest Update July 26, 2021)