Myanmar earthquake: race to find survivors as junta confirms huge rise in death toll
Key events
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.
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.
Quake toll passes 1,000 – report
The Myanmar quake toll has topped 1,000, Agence France-Presse is reporting, citing the country’s military junta.
Opening summary
Hello and welcome to our live coverage of the earthquake that devastated Myanmar and caused the deadly collapse of a high-rise building in Bangkok on Friday.
The Myanmar junta on Saturday said almost 700 people had died in the quake. The country’s second biggest city, Mandalay, is believed to have been especially hard hit, with images showing widespread destruction.
Min Aung Hlaing, the chief of Myanmar’s junta, said on Friday he expected the death toll to rise and urged “any country, any organisation” to help with relief efforts – a rare request from the isolated military government, which has previously shunned foreign assistance even after major natural disasters.
The junta said blood was in high demand in the worst-affected areas as concerns grew about how rescuers would even reach some parts of a country already enduring a widespread humanitarian crisis.
In neighbouring Thailand, search and rescue efforts continued for up to 101 people reported missing from construction sites in Bangkok, including the high-rise.
Authorities on Saturday said six people had been confirmed dead and 22 injured, revising down the death toll of 10 from the previous day, saying several critically injured people were mistakenly reported dead.
Bangkok governor Chadchart Sittipunt said more people were believed to be alive in the wreckage as search efforts continued on Saturday morning.
We’ll bring you more updates as we have them.
