Police firing kills five jade scavengers in Myanmar

YANGON, Oct 20 (AFP): Five people were killed after Myanmar police opened fire on an armed mob that tried to enter a jade mine in the far north, state media reported Friday, the latest deadly incident in a murky multi-billion-dollar industry.

The violence erupted after police blocked around 50 jade scavengers from accessing an industrial plot owned by "111 Company" in Kachin State's Hpakant -- the hub of a trade beset by worker unrest, deadly landslides, corruption and drug abuse.

An hour later, "nearly 600 people returned and attacked the police, burning dump trucks and destroying a backhoe," reported the state-run Global New Light of Myanmar.

"As police were attacked with knives, police opened fire to drive back the attackers," the state mouthpiece said.

Most of the world's best quality jadeite is mined in Hpakant-a once lush region that has been carved into a barren moonscape by industrial firms linked to Myanmar's junta-era elite.