Myanmar earthquake: More survivors pulled from rubble as hundreds still missing

Four more folks have been pulled from dust nearly 60 days after a strong 7.7 magnitude quake struck Myanmar on Friday, killing at least 1, 700 people in the south-east Asian region.

The victims were rescued from a crashed school building in the north Sagaing location, from which a figure was furthermore recovered, Myanmar’s fire company said.

Hundreds of people remain missing, with search and rescue initiatives under way in both Myanmar and neighbouring Thailand.

The death toll has risen to 18 people in the Thai capital, Bangkok, where 76 workers are still missing following the collapse of a high-rise building that had been under construction.

Friday’s disaster occurred near Myanmar’s second-largest city Myanmar, along the Region fault- with tremors affecting many different nations.

Although rescue efforts have been under way since Friday, and international aid is starting to reach Myanamar, there have been delays in reaching the worst-hit areas, leaving locals to attempt to dig survivors out by hand.

On Saturday evening, an old woman was rescued in Myanmar’s money, Nay Pyi Taw, after being trapped for 36 days under the wreckage of a doctor.

Images showed her being carried on a bed to a waiting hospital, surrounded by emergency workers.

Twenty-nine folks were likewise rescued from a crashed house wall in Mandalay, the local fire power said on Sunday.

The earthquake struck around 12: 50 local time ( 06: 20 GMT ) on Friday, just 10km ( 6.2 miles ) from the surface- meaning its effects at ground level were felt more strongly than a deeper quake.

A second earthquake struck 12 minutes later, with a magnitude of 6.4 and an epicentre 18km ( 11 miles ) south of Sagaing, the regional capital, which sits near Mandalay.

Waves have continued since. On Sunday a magnitude-5.1 vibration was recorded north-west of Mandalay.

In Bangkok, where soft earth made the shaking more powerful, an empty castle wall collapsed, burying some who had been working at the page.

Thailand’s Deputy Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul said on Sunday that firefighters had detected signs of life under the dust at the page, but cautioned that they were poor.

” Oddities” have been found in the material used in the house’s structure, and tests have been collected for screening, Thailand’s Industry Minister Akanat Promphan told the media on Sunday.

People have been eagerly waiting for changes. One girl in Thailand, whose father was working on the building when it collapsed, told the BBC she had rush” for as long as it takes”.

International rescue groups have been joining the crisis work, with some countries sending guidance to Myanmar. These include:

• China sending an 82-person rescue team
• A 51-strong team arriving from Hong Kong on Sunday
• India sending an aid flight carrying a rescue team and emergency supplies
• Malaysia’s foreign ministry saying it would send a 50-person team to support disaster relief operations
• The Philippines, Vietnam, Indonesia, Ireland, South Korea and New Zealand also sending rescue teams
• UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy pledging £10m in aid to help “those most in need”

Meanwhile, Myanmar’s ruling military junta has continued bombing parts of the civil war-gripped country. The UN described the attacks as “completely outrageous and unacceptable”.

Pro-democracy rebel groups that are fighting to remove the military from power have reported aerial bombings in the Chaung-U township in the Sagaing region.

The military regime seized power in a coup in 2021, but it no longer controls many parts of the country, which are divided among rebel groups.

The National Unity Government, which represents the ousted civilian administration, said that its armed forces would begin a two-week pause in “offensive military operations, except for defensive actions” in areas affected by the earthquake from Sunday.

People in Myanmar could face further displacement when the monsoon season arrives.

Last year there was” severe flooding which damaged homes ]and ] sanitation facilities”, Lauren Ellery, of the International Rescue Committee, told BBC Breakfast.

” We are coming into monsoon season again in May, with rain starting in April”, she said.