Historical eventJuly 22020

2020 Hpakant jade mine disaster

A landslide at a jade mine in Hpakant killed 175–200 miners, the deadliest mining accident in Burmese history.

In context

When
Thursday, July 2 20206 years ago
Category
Historical eventA dated happening — a battle, treaty, launch, discovery, disaster or decision — recorded on this calendar day.
Era
21st century · 2020s
Recorded from
Wikipedia “On this day” feed

At a glance

Dates: From 2020-07-02.

Place: Hpakant, Myanmar.

Type: landslide.

Deaths reported: 162. Casualties: 54.

What came before

Background Looking down a rubble slope at a jade mine in Kachin State Myanmar is the largest supplier of jade , [ 1 ] providing between 70% [ 2 ] and 90% [ 3 ] of the world's supply. While Myanmar's official statistics for 2016–2017 put the jade trade value at US$750 million, [ 4 ] independent estimates that include illegal mining put it at US$15–31 billion per year. [ 2 ] [ 5 ] [ note 1 ]

What happened

On 2 July 2020, a major landslide at the Wai Khar jade mining site in the Hpakant area of Kachin State, Myanmar, killed between 175 and 200 miners in the country's deadliest-ever mining incident. At 06:30 local time (MMT) heavy rains triggered the collapse of a heap of mining waste, which came tumbling down into a lake. This generated a 6 metres (20 ft) wave of mud and water that buried those working at the Wai Khar mine. The miners killed or injured by the landslide were independent "jade pickers",

July 2 through the years

Other entries on the same calendar day, in order.

  1. 1993Sivas
  2. 1994USAir Flight 1016
  3. 1997Thai baht
  4. 1998Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
  5. 2000Vicente Fox
  6. 2005Live 8
  7. 2013International Astronomical Union
  8. 2013Aceh
  9. 20132013 Aceh earthquake
  10. 20202020 Hpakant jade mine disaster
  11. 20242024 Hathras crowd crush

Also in 2020

  • September 15Abraham AccordsThe Abraham Accords were signed in Washington, D.C. (signatories pictured), normalizing relations between Israel and two Arab nations, th…
  • September 15Bahrain–Israel normalization agreementSigning of the Bahrain–Israel normalization agreement occurs in Washington, D.C., normalizing relations between Israel and two Arab natio…
  • September 52020 California wildfiresCalifornia wildfires: A pyrotechnic device at a gender reveal party ignited the El Dorado Fire (pictured), burning for 71 days and killin…
  • July 13Naya RiveraAfter a five day search, the body of American actress and singer Naya Rivera was recovered from Lake Piru, confirming her death.
  • July 13Death of Naya RiveraAfter a five-day search, the body of American actress and singer Naya Rivera is recovered from Lake Piru in California, where she had dro…
  • May 25George FloydGeorge Floyd, a black American man, was murdered (memorial pictured) during an arrest by a white police officer in Minneapolis, sparking…
  • August 102020 Midwest derechoDerecho in Iowa becomes the most costly thunderstorm disaster in U.S. history.
  • January 3Qasem SoleimaniIranian General Qasem Soleimani is killed by an American airstrike near Baghdad International Airport, igniting global concerns of a pote…

Everything we record for 2020 →

Sources

Cite this page

“2020 Hpakant jade mine disaster”, What's On This Date, https://whatsonthisdate.com/app/event/2020-hpakant-jade-mine-disaster-2020-july-2, accessed October 27, 2026.

Cite the underlying source as well — the source links above go to the record this entry is adapted from.

Questions about this entry

When did 2020 Hpakant jade mine disaster happen?

July 2 2020 — 6 years ago, on a Thursday.

Where does this text come from?

Wikipedia “On this day” feed. Summaries are short adaptations that link back to the source, not reprints.

How do I cite this page?

Use the ready-made citation near the sources at the bottom of the page, and follow the source link to cite the underlying record as well.

Text adapted from Wikipedia under CC BY-SA 4.0 and from Wikidata (CC0). Images come from Wikimedia Commons; credit and licence are shown with each image. Editorial entries are © What's On This Date. Sources & licensing · How this site works.