ULAN BATOR, June 3 (Xinhua) -- Mongolia has launched its first-ever nationwide environmental inspection to address irresponsible mining practices, the country's State Emergency Commission (SEC) announced on Wednesday.
The move follows a tragic incident in late May in central Mongolia, where a three-year-old girl fell into an abandoned borehole measuring 30 meters deep and 30 centimeters in diameter and lost her life.
The nationwide inspection campaign has been named in memory of the victim, according to the SEC.
"This is the first time a nationwide environmental inspection is being conducted in Mongolia. We do not yet know how many hazardous and unsealed holes similar to the one involved in the girl's accident exist across the country," Nyamtaishir Nomtoibayar, deputy prime minister and head of the SEC, told reporters.
The inspection will determine the scale of the problem, said Nomtoibayar. ■