Buddhist monks pass in front of a collapsed building after a powerful earthquake in Naytyitaw, Myanmar on Saturday.
AUNG SHINE OO / AP
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AUNG SHINE OO / AP
Bangkok – The death toll of a powerful 7.7 magnitude earthquake in Myanmar jumped to more than 1,000 Saturday when more bodies were drawn from the rubble of dozens of buildings that collapsed when he struck near the second city in the country.
The country’s soldiers’ government said in a statement that 1,002 people had now been found dead and 2,376 injured, with 30 other missing persons. The declaration suggests that the figures could further increase, claiming that “detailed figures are still collected”.
Myanmar is plagued by prolonged and bloody civil war, which is already responsible for a massive humanitarian crisis. This makes movement across the country that is both difficult and dangerous, complicating rescue efforts and raising fears that the number of deaths can still increase.
The earthquake struck at noon on Friday with an epicenter not far from Mandalay, followed by several aftershocks, including one measuring a high magnitude of 6.4. He sent buildings in many areas reversing to the ground, completed the roads, caused the bridges collapsed and broke out a dam.
In neighboring Thailand, the Quake has shaken the Grand Bangkok region, which houses some 17 million people – many of whom live in high -rise buildings – and other parts of the country.
The authorities of the city of Bangkok have so far said that six people had been found dead, 26 injured and 47 are still missing, most of them on a construction site near the Chatchak popular market in the capital.
When the earthquake struck, the 33-story skyscraper being built by a Chinese company for the Thai government has won, then crashed on the ground in a massive plume of dust that sent people to scream and flee the scene.
On Saturday, more heavy equipment was brought to move the tons of rubble, but the hope was upset with friends and family members of the missing that they would be found alive.
“I was praying for them to survive, but when I arrived here and I saw the ruin-where could they be? In what corner? Are they still alive? I always pray for the six to be alive,” said Naruemol Thonglek, 45, sobbing while she was waiting for news about her partner, who is myanmar, and five friends who worked on the site.
“I can’t accept this. When I see that, I can’t accept this. A close friend is there too,” she said.
Waenphet Panta said that she hadn’t heard of her daughter Kanlayanee for a phone call about an hour before the earthquake. A friend said Kanlayanee had worked at the top of the building on Friday.
“I pray that my daughter is safe, that she has survived and that she was in the hospital,” she said, Kanlayanee’s father sitting next to her.
The above map shows the epicenter of an earthquake of magnitude 7.7 in Myanmar.
Phil Holm / AP
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Phil Holm / AP
Myanmar is sitting on a large flaw line
Earthquakes are rare in Bangkok, but relatively common to Myanmar. The country is on the sagaing fault, a major north-south-south flaw that separates the Indian plate and the baking sheet.
Brian Baptie, a seismologist of the British Geological Survey, said that it seems that a section of 200 kilometers (125 miles) of the fault has broken for a little more than a minute, with a shift from up to 5 meters (16.4 feet) in places, causing an intense floor tremor in an area where most of the population lives in buildings constructed in Timber A masonry area.
“When you have a large earthquake in an area where there are more than a million people, many of whom live in vulnerable buildings, the consequences can often be disastrous,” he said in a statement.
“According to the first reports, this seems likely to be the case here.”
A natural disaster in addition to a civil war
The Myanmar government said blood was in high demand in the hardest affected areas. In a country where previous governments have sometimes been slow to accept foreign aid, Min Aung Hlaing said myanmar was ready to accept external assistance.
The Myanmar army seized the power of 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 new pro-democracies trained.
Government forces have lost control of a large part of the Myanmar, and many places are incredibly dangerous or simply impossible to reach for help groups. According to the United Nations, more than 3 million people have been moved by fighting and nearly 20 million need it, according to the United Nations.
“Although a complete image of the damage is still emerging, most of us have never seen such destruction,” said Haider Yaqub, director of the country of Myanmar for Inter International, of Yangon.
“Without a doubt, humanitarian needs will be important.”
Rescue groups go to Myanmar
China and Russia are the largest weapons suppliers to the Myanmar army and were among the first to intervene with humanitarian aid.
A team of 37 members of the Chinese province of Yunnan reached Yangon city on Saturday with earthquake detectors, drones and other supplies, the official Xinhua news agency reported.
The Ministry of Emergency of Russia has sent two planes carrying 120 rescuers and supplies, according to a report by the Russian TASS state news.
India has sent a research and rescue team and a medical team as well as arrangements, while the Malaysian Foreign Ministry said that the country would send 50 people on Sunday to help identify and provide assistance to the most affected areas.
South Korea has announced that it would provide $ 2 million in myanmar humanitarian aid through international organizations to support recovery efforts. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs added that Seoul would close the situation closely and examine additional support if necessary.
The United Nations allocated $ 5 million to start rescue efforts. President Donald Trump said on Friday that the United States would help the answer, but some experts were concerned about this effort given the profound cuts of his administration in foreign assistance.
The Trump administration cuts to the American agency for international development have already forced the United Nations and non -governmental organization to reduce many programs in Myanmar.
