World News | 7 Missing in Ground Collapse in Northern Laos
Get latest articles and stories on World at LatestLY. Seven people are missing in northern Laos' Xieng Khuang province after the ground collapsed while they were drilling for gold on Sunday.
Vientiane [Laos], July 21 (ANI/Xinhua): Seven people are missing in northern Laos' Xieng Khuang province after the ground collapsed while they were drilling for gold on Sunday.
The incident occurred in Choi village, Phoukout district in Xieng Khuang province, some 180 km northeast of Lao capital Vientiane, local daily Vientiane Times reported on Wednesday.
The group of seven, including one woman, had drilled about 10 meters deep when the ground collapsed, an official from the province's Department of Information, Culture and Tourism told the daily.
The accident followed many days of rain so it was probably the soft ground that caused the land to cave in, he said.
Authorities have assigned local residents to help drill down and locate the bodies of the seven missing people, who are believed to be buried, he added.
People should be careful when drilling during the rainy season because the ground may collapse, he cautioned.
Every year, landslides occur in mountainous northern provinces after heavy rain, causing damage to roads, farmland and houses. Landslides are a perennial problem in the rainy season. (ANI/Xinhua)
(The above story is verified and authored by ANI staff, ANI is South Asia's leading multimedia news agency with over 100 bureaus in India, South Asia and across the globe. ANI brings the latest news on Politics and Current Affairs in India & around the World, Sports, Health, Fitness, Entertainment, & News. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)