Death toll climbs to more than 1,600 after Myanmar earthquake
The new total of 1,644 is a sharp rise over the 1,002 total announced just hours earlier in the military-run country.
The confirmed death toll from a devastating earthquake rose to more than 1,600, according to state television in Myanmar.
The new total of 1,644 is a sharp rise over the 1,002 total announced just hours earlier, underlining the difficulty of confirming casualties over a widespread region and the likelihood that the numbers will continue to grow from Friday’s 7.7 magnitude quake.
The number of injured increased to 3,408, while the missing figure rose to 139.
Rescue efforts are under way especially in the major stricken cities of Mandalay and Naypyitaw, the capital.
But even though teams and equipment have been flown in from other nations, they are hindered by the airports in those cities being damaged and apparently unfit to land planes.
A state of emergency has been declared in six regions and states in Myanmar by the military-run government.
Myanmar is in the throes of a prolonged and bloody civil war, which is already responsible for a massive humanitarian crisis.
It makes movement around the country both difficult and dangerous, complicating relief efforts and raising fears that the death toll could still rise precipitously.
The earthquake struck at midday on Friday with an epicentre not far from Mandalay, Myanmar’s second biggest city, sending buildings in many areas toppling to the ground and causing widespread damage.
The earthquake also shook neighbouring Thailand, killing six people and injuring 26 at three construction sites, including one where a partially built high-rise collapsed in Bangkok.
Another 47 people were still missing, authorities said on Saturday.
Bangkok governor Chadchart Sittipunt said more people were believed to be alive in the wreckage as search efforts continued on Saturday morning.
Most of Bangkok’s metro and light rail had resumed operation normally on Saturday morning, according to their operators, although two light rail lines remained closed pending further inspection.
The earthquake reportedly brought down multiple buildings in Mandalay, Myanmar’s second-largest city, including the Ma Soe Yane monastery.
In Mandalay, the earthquake damaged part of the former royal palace and buildings, according to videos and photos released on social media.
In the Sagaing region, southwest of Mandalay, a 90-year-old bridge collapsed, and some sections of the highway connecting Mandalay and Myanmar’s largest city, Yangon, were damaged.
In the Myanmar capital Naypyitaw, the earthquake damaged religious shrines, sending parts toppling to the ground.
Satellite photos from Planet Labs PBC showed the earthquake toppled the air traffic control tower at Myanmar’s Naypyitaw International Airport.
Major General Zaw Min Tun, a military government spokesman, told MRTV that blood was in high demand in the hospitals in earthquake-hit areas, especially Mandalay, Sagaing, and Naypyitaw.
He urged blood donors to contact the hospitals as soon as possible.
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, the 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 will send 50 people on Sunday to help identify and provide aid to the worst-hit areas.
The United Nations’ emergency relief coordinator made an initial allocation of five million dollars (£3.86 million) for recovery efforts in the area as the international body works to recover from massive US funding cuts to the region.
UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said UN staff were working to gather information on the number of people impacted, damage to infrastructure and the scope of the humanitarian needs.
“The earthquake will compound an already dire humanitarian situation in Myanmar, where nearly 20 million people need assistance across the country, including more than 3.5 million people displaced from their homes,” he said.
President Donald Trump said on Friday that 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.
