Myanmar earthquake: race to find survivors as junta confirms huge rise in death toll

Key events

China and Russia are the largest suppliers of weapons to Myanmar’s military and were among the first to step in with humanitarian aid.

The Associated Press reports that a 37-member team from the Chinese province of Yunnan reached the city of Yangon early on Saturday with earthquake detectors, drones and other supplies, China’s official Xinhua news agency reported.

Russia’s emergencies ministry dispatched two planes carrying 120 rescuers and supplies, according to a report from the Russian state news agency Tass.

India sent a search and rescue team and a medical team as well as provisions, while Malaysia’s foreign ministry said the country would send 50 people on Sunday to help identify and provide aid to the worst-hit areas.

Rescue workers rest next to a damaged building in Mandalay on Saturday as efforts continue to look for quake survivors.

The UN allocated $5m to start relief efforts. President Donald Trump said the US was going to help with the response, but some experts were concerned about this effort given his administration’s deep cuts in foreign assistance.

The Trump administration’s cuts to the US Agency for International Development have already forced the UN and non-governmental organisations to cut many programs in Myanmar.

In Mandalay, Myanmar’s second-biggest city, Agence France-Presse journalists saw a centuries-old Buddhist pagoda that had been reduced to rubble by the quake.

“It started shaking, then it started getting serious,” a soldier said at a checkpoint on the road outside the pagoda.

The monastery also collapsed. One monk died. Some people were injured, we pulled out some people and took them to the hospital.

The head of the main Buddha statue in the monastery fell off and was placed on the platform at its feet.

“Everyone at the monastery dares not sleep inside, as we heard there could be another earthquake,” the soldier said. “I have never felt anything like this in my life.

The collapsed Maha Myat Muni pagoda in Mandalay after the quake.

Guards at Mandalay airport turned away journalists, the AFP report said.

“It has been closed since yesterday,” one said. “The ceiling collapsed but no one was hurt.”

Damage to the airport would complicate relief efforts in a country whose rescue services and healthcare system have already been ravaged by four years of civil war sparked by the military coup in 2021.

Myanmar’s state-run MRTV is saying the death toll from Friday’s 7.7-magnitude quake has climbed to 1,002.

It said 2,376 people were injured and 30 missing, Reuters reports.

South Korea will provide $2m to Myanmar in humanitarian aid through international organisations in initial assistance to help the country respond to Friday’s earthquake, Reuters quotes its foreign ministry as saying on Saturday.

In Bangkok, where a skyscraper under construction came crashing down near the popular Chatuchak market, more heavy equipment was brought in on Saturday to move the tons of rubble but hope was fading among friends and family members of the missing that they will be found alive, the Associated Press reports.

“I was praying that that they had survived but when I got here and saw the ruin – where could they be? In which corner? Are they still alive?” said 45-year-old Naruemol Thonglek, sobbing as she awaited news about her partner, who is from Myanmar, and five friends who worked at the site.

I am still praying that all six are alive.

I cannot accept this. When I see this I can’t accept this. A close friend of mine is in there, too.

Waenphet Panta said she hadn’t heard from her daughter Kanlayanee since a phone call about an hour before the quake. A friend told her Kanlayanee had been working high on the building on Friday.

“I am praying my daughter is safe, that she has survived and that she’s at the hospital,” she said as Kanlayanee’s father sat beside her.

Rescuers resume operations on Saturday at the Chatuchak site of a high-rise collapse in Bangkok, Thailand.

Myanmar Earthquake Death Toll Surpasses 1,000

Agence France-Presse reports that the death toll from the Myanmar earthquake has exceeded 1,000, according to sources within the nation’s military junta.

Myanmar Earthquake and Bangkok Building Collapse: Live Updates

Initial Summary of Events

Welcome to live updates on the devastating earthquake in Myanmar and the subsequent deadly collapse of a Bangkok high-rise construction on Friday.

On Saturday, the Myanmar junta reported nearly 700 fatalities from the powerful earthquake. Mandalay, the nation’s second-largest city, is believed to have sustained significant damage, with visuals revealing widespread destruction.

Min Aung Hlaing, leader of Myanmar’s junta, stated on Friday that he anticipates the fatality count to increase. He made a rare plea for international assistance from “any country, any organisation” to aid in relief efforts. This appeal marks a departure for the isolated military regime, which has historically rejected foreign aid, even in the wake of major natural disasters.

A collapsed building in Mandalay.

The junta indicated an urgent requirement for blood supplies in the most affected regions. Concerns are escalating regarding access for rescue teams to certain areas amidst an already dire humanitarian crisis.

In neighboring Thailand, search and rescue operations are ongoing for up to 101 individuals reported missing from construction sites in Bangkok, including the fallen high-rise.

Thai authorities stated on Saturday that six deaths and 22 injuries have been confirmed. They revised down the previous day’s death toll of 10, clarifying that some critically injured individuals were initially incorrectly reported as deceased.

Bangkok Governor Chadchart Sittipunt conveyed that there is still belief that survivors remain in the wreckage, as search efforts persisted on Saturday morning.

Further updates will be provided as they become available.

source: theguardian.com

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