Seven people missing after ground collapse in Laos

Seven people have gone missing during gold mining in the southeast Asian country of Laos in Xieng Khuang province. The incident took place on Sunday in the village of Choi in Phukot district in Xieng Khuang province, about 180 km northeast of Vientiane, the capital of Laos. An official of the province’s Information, Culture and Tourism Department told the newspaper that a group of seven people, including a woman, had dug 10 meters deep when they all went missing after the ground collapsed.

He said that it had been raining continuously for several days before the accident due to which the ground may have softened. Because of this, the ground collapsed as soon as the excavation was done. Local residents have been asked to help locate the bodies of the seven missing, the official said. All seven people are believed to be buried alive. He cautioned that people should be careful while digging the land during the rainy season. Significantly, every year heavy rains are followed by landslides in the mountainous northern provinces, causing damage to roads, farms and homes. There are always landslides during the rainy season.