Gold Mine Landslide Kills Seven in Northern Vietnam

A land slide occurred at a gold mining quarry in Vietnam’s northern province of Lao Cai has killed at least seven people, local media reported. The accident happened last week, brought about by tropical storm Dianmu, local authorities said. Employees of the Vang Nhan Company, which had been licensed to mine for gold in the area, were resting in their camps at the foot of the mountain when thousands of cubic meters of land, accompanied by a flash flood, swept through the venue, washing away several miners. Initial reports by provincial authorities indicated that only two men had died in the mudslide, but local residents claimed that they had seen a score of bodies swept out of the mine. Several local media outlets reported that a total of 18 people had lost their lives in the disaster but this was refuted by the official. State media reported that the company had offered relatives of those employees killed by the landslide some VND130 million to not bring up the subject. (Tuoi Tre – Youth Aug 24, Thanh Nien – Young People Aug 25 p5)