Myanmar quake death toll hits 1,000 as rescue efforts mount

On Saturday, Myanmar’s military leaders permitted the entry of hundreds of foreign rescue teams following an earthquake that claimed more than 1,000 lives, marking the deadliest natural disaster to affect the struggling, conflict-ridden nation in years.

Friday’s 7.7 magnitude earthquake, one of the largest to strike the Southeast Asian country in the past century, severely damaged airports, bridges, and roads during a civil war that has devastated the economy and displaced millions.

The military government reported on Saturday that the death toll in Myanmar reached 1,002. In neighboring Thailand, the earthquake shook structures and caused a skyscraper under construction in the capital, Bangkok, to collapse, resulting in at least nine fatalities.

Survivors in Mandalay, Myanmar’s second-largest city, excavated with their bare hands on Friday in a frantic effort to rescue those still trapped, as they lacked heavy equipment and authorities were missing.

In Bangkok on Saturday, rescue efforts persisted at the location of the 33-story building’s collapse, where 47 individuals were missing or trapped beneath the debris – among them were laborers from Myanmar.

The U.S. Geological Survey’s predictive modeling estimated that the death toll in Myanmar may surpass 10,000, and the losses could outweigh the nation’s yearly economic production. One day after requesting international support, Myanmar’s junta leader, Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, visited the severely affected Mandalay close to the quake’s epicentre, where structures collapsed and fires erupted in certain locations.

An initial assessment by Myanmar’s opposition National Unity Government said at least 2,900 buildings, 30 roads and seven bridges had been damaged by the quake.

“Due to significant damage, Naypyitaw and Mandalay international airports are temporarily closed,” said the NUG, which includes remnants of the elected civilian government ousted by the military in a 2021 coup that triggered the civil war.

The control tower at Naypyitaw’s airport, Myanmar’s specially constructed capital city, fell down, making it nonfunctional, a source familiar with the matter informed .

A Chinese rescue team reached the airport in Yangon, Myanmar’s commercial hub, situated hundreds of kilometres away from Mandalay and Naypyitaw, and will proceed to travel inland by bus, according to state media. According to state media, relief goods from India arrived in Yangon on a military plane.

Russia, Malaysia, and Singapore were similarly dispatching aircraft filled with aid supplies and staff. The Association of Southeast Asian Nations, a 10-nation group featuring Myanmar, stated that it acknowledged the pressing requirement for humanitarian aid. “ASEAN is prepared to assist with relief and recovery initiatives,” the organization stated in a message.