The death toll from a massive earthquake in Myanmar has jumped to 694, with 1,670 people injured, the country's ruling junta said Saturday.
The shallow 7.7-magnitude quake struck northwest of the city of Sagaing in central Myanmar on Friday causing massive destruction across large parts of the country.
Widespread damage
The quake caused extensive damage in Myanmar.
There was massive destruction in Mandalay, where multiple buildings collapsed into piles of rubble and twisted metal coated in dust, dotted with people attempting rescues.
The Ava bridge running across the Irawaddy river from Sagaing, built nearly 100 years ago, collapsed into the swirling waters below.
There were reports of damage to Mandalay airport, potentially complicating relief efforts, as well as to the city's university and palace, according to the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies.
In Naypyidaw, AFP reporters saw buildings toppled and roads ruptured.
At a hospital in the capital, patients were being treated outdoors after the quake damaged the building, bringing down the emergency department's entrance.
Electricity outages were reported in several places, with power limited to four hours in Yangon due to quake damage.
Communications across affected areas were also patchy, with phone networks largely down.
In Bangkok, a crane collapsed at a second building site and the city shut down metro and light rail services overnight to inspect for damage.
Several hundred people slept in parks overnight, city authorities said, either unable to get home or worried about the structural integrity of their buildings.
The quake prompted thousands of people to flee shaking buildings in Thailand, where quakes are rare.
Even hospitals were evacuated, with one woman delivering a baby in the street in Bangkok, and a surgeon continuing to operate on a patient after being forced to leave the theatre mid-operation.
Aid pleas, offers
The scale of the devastation prompted Myanmar's isolated military regime to make a rare plea for international assistance.
Myanmar's junta chief invited "any country, any organisation" to help with relief and said he he "opened all ways for foreign aid".
Offers of assistance flooded in, with neighbour India among the first to say it was ready to help.
The European Union offered support, and US President Donald Trump said Washington had "already spoken" with Myanmar about aid.
"It's a real bad one, and we will be helping," he told reporters.
The World Health Organization said it was preparing to surge support in response to "a very, very big threat to life and health."
Source: AFP
Bd-pratidin English/ Afia
