Myanmar’s earthquake death toll jumps to more than 1,600 as search efforts continue

The death toll from the powerful 7.7 magnitude earthquake in Myanmar and Thailand jumped to more than 1,600 on Saturday and it is expected to go up as more search efforts are underway.

The country’s military-led government said in a statement Saturday that 1,644 people have been found dead, while the number of injured jumped to 3,408 with at least 139 missing, CBS News partner BBC reported. At least 10 people were killed in neighboring Bangkok.

Francesco Capoluongo, from the International Federation of the Red Cross in Myanmar, told the BBC that with more than 18 million people living within the earthquake’s impacted area, they expect the death toll to keep increasing.

“The search and rescue is still ongoing,” she said. “It’s very difficult now to validate any figure, and we know that it will continue to increase and (that) many of these 18 million people are now without safe shelter, access to clean water, reliable health care.”

Myanmar, also known as Burma, 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.

On Saturday night, Myanmar’s National Unity Government, which coordinates the popular struggle against the ruling military, announced a unilateral partial ceasefire to facilitate earthquake relief efforts. It said in a statement that its armed wing, the People’s Defense Force (PDF) will implement a two-week pause in offensive military operations starting Sunday in earthquake-affected areas.

It said it would “collaborate with the U.N. and non-governmental organizations to ensure security, transportation, and the establishment of temporary rescue and medical camps,” in its controlled areas.

The earthquake struck midday Friday with an epicenter not far from Mandalay, followed by several aftershocks including one measuring a strong 6.4 magnitude. It sent buildings in many areas toppling to the ground, buckled roads, caused bridges to collapse and burst a dam.

In the capital Naypyidaw, crews worked Saturday to repair damaged roads, while electricity, phone and internet services remained down for most of the city. The earthquake brought down many buildings, including multiple units that housed government civil servants, but that section of the city was blocked off by authorities on Saturday.

The government said more than 1,590 houses were damaged in the Mandalay region, the epicenter of the earthquake.

Destruction in Thailand

In neighboring Thailand, the death toll increased to 10. The quake rocked the greater Bangkok area, home to around 17 million people, and other parts of the country. Many places in the north reported damage, but the only casualties were reported in Bangkok, the capital.

Nine of the fatalities were at the site of the collapsed high-rise under construction near Bangkok’s Chatuchak market, while 78 people were still unaccounted for.

On Saturday, more heavy equipment was brought in to move the tons of rubble, but hope was fading among friends and family members of the missing that they would be found alive.

“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? I am still praying that all six are 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 cannot accept this. When I see this I can’t accept this. A close friend of mine is in there, too,” she said.

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, Kanlayanee’s father sitting beside her.

Thai authorities said the quake and aftershocks were felt in most of the country’s provinces. Many places in the north reported damage to residential buildings, hospitals and temples, including in Chiang Mai, but the only casualties were reported in Bangkok

International aid arrives as rescuers ask for help

After more than 24 hours of desperate searching, many exhausted rescue workers are asking for some relief.
“We have been here since last night. We haven’t got any sleep. More help is needed here,” the rescue worker told AFP. “We have enough manpower but we don’t have enough cars. We are transporting dead bodies using light trucks. About 10-20 bodies in one light truck.”

In a country where prior governments sometimes have been slow to accept foreign aid, Min Aung Hlaing said Myanmar was ready to accept outside assistance.

China and Russia, the largest suppliers of weapons to Myanmar’s military, were among the first to step in with humanitarian aid.

China said it has sent more than 135 rescue personnel and experts along with supplies like medical kits and generators and pledged some $13.8 million in emergency humanitarian aid. Russia’s Emergencies Ministry said it had flown in 120 rescuers and supplies.

India also sent a search and rescue team and a medical team while Malaysia said it would send 50 people on Sunday.

South Korea said it would provide $2 million worth of humanitarian aid through international organizations, and the U.N. allocated $5 million to start relief efforts.

Hong Kong sent a group of 51 search-and-rescue personnel to help with earthquake relief efforts in Myanmar. The group includes firefighters and ambulance personnel as well as two search-and-rescue dogs, among others.

President Trump said Friday that the U.S. was going to help with the response.

Mr. Trump told reporters in the Oval Office he’d already spoken to the country’s officials and “It’s a real bad one, and we will be helping.”

However, some experts were concerned about this effort given his administration’s deep cuts in foreign assistance.

Natural disaster on top of civil war

Myanmar’s military seized power from the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi in February 2021 and is now involved in a bloody civil war with long-established militias and newly formed pro-democracy ones.

Military forces continued their attacks even after the quake, with three airstrikes in northern Kayin state, also called Karenni state, and southern Shan — both of which border Mandalay state, said Dave Eubank, a former U.S. Special Forces soldier who founded the Free Burma Rangers, a humanitarian aid organization that has provided assistance to both combatants and civilians in Myanmar since the 1990s.

Eubank told The Associated Press that in the area he was operating in, most villages had already been destroyed by the military so the earthquake had little impact.

“People are in the jungle and I was out in the jungle when the earthquake hit — it was powerful, but the trees just moved, that was it for us, so we haven’t had a direct impact other than that the Burma army keeps attacking, even after the quake,” he said.

In northern Shan, an airstrike on a rebel-controlled village just minutes after the earthquake killed seven militia members and damaged five buildings, including a school, Mai Rukow, editor of a Shan-based online media Shwe Phee Myay News Agency, told the AP.

Government forces have lost control of much of Myanmar, and many places are incredibly dangerous or simply impossible for aid groups to reach. More than 3 million people have been displaced by the fighting and nearly 20 million are in need, according to the United Nations.

“Although a full picture of the damage is still emerging, most of us have never seen such destruction,” said Haider Yaqub, Myanmar country director for the NGO Plan International, from Yangon.

“Without a doubt, the humanitarian needs will be significant.”