The death toll from the earthquake that hit Myanmar has risen to more than 1,700 as more bodies have been pulled from the rubble, the country’s military-led government said Monday (March 31).
Government spokesman Maj. Gen. Zaw Min Tun told state-run MRTV that another 3,400 have been injured and more than 300 were missing. The military had previously reported 1,644 dead but did not provide specific figures in its update.
The 7.7 magnitude earthquake hit at midday Friday, causing widespread damage, including in the capital Naypitaw and the second largest city, Mandalay.
It was the time of Friday prayers for the country’s Muslim minority during the holy month of Ramadan, and some 700 worshippers were killed when mosques collapsed, said Tun Kyi, a member of the steering committee of the Spring Revolution Myanmar Muslim Network. It was not clear whether they were already included in the official count of casualties.
Tun Kyi said some 60 mosques were damaged or destroyed when the earthquake struck, and videos posted on The Irrawaddy online news site showed several mosques toppling during the quake, and people fleeing from the areas.
The true number of people killed and injured across the regions hit is thought to be possibly many times the official figures, but with telecommunication outages and extreme challenges to movement around the country, little is known about the damage in many areas.
“We’re really not clear on the scale of the destruction at this stage,” Lauren Ellery, deputy director of programs in Myanmar for the International Rescue Committee, told The Associated Press.
There is a state of emergency in six regions, and Ellery said her teams on the ground and their local partners are currently assessing where needs are the greatest, while providing emergency medical care, humanitarian supplies and other assistance.
“They were talking about a town near Mandalay where 80% of the buildings were reportedly collapsed, but it wasn’t in the news because telecommunications have been slow,” she said.
“Even in areas where there isn’t so much impact, our partner reported to us on Saturday that there were landslides stopping them reaching one of the villages.”
The earthquake, centered near Mandalay — a city of some 1.5 million, brought down buildings and damaged other infrastructure like the city’s airport.
A lack of heavy machinery has slowed search and rescue operations, forcing many to slowly search for survivors by hand in the relentless heat, with daily temperatures above 40 degrees Celsius (104 Fahrenheit).
The earthquake also shock neighboring Thailand and killed at least 18 people, many at a construction site in Bangkok where a partially built high-rise collapsed.
Another 33 have been reported injured and 78 missing, primarily at the construction site near the popular Chatuchak market.
Heavy equipment was shut down and authorities urged onlookers to be silent as they used machines to try and detect any signs of life from under the rubble.
Bangkok Governor Chadchart Sittipunt told reporters at the scene that signs had been detected Sunday night, though experts could not determine whether it had been machine error.
Nonetheless, he said he still had hope survivors would be found.
“Even if one life is saved, it is worth all the effort,” he said.
Bd-Pratidin English/ARK
