YANGON (Kashmir English): The death toll in Friday’s earthquake, among the biggest to jolt Myanmar in the last century – surpassed 1600 as the country’s military rulers let in hundreds of foreign rescue workers to start rescue operation.
The 7.7 magnitude quake crippled bridges, airports, and highways amid a civil war that has a devastating effect on the country’s economy and displaced millions.
According to the Myanmar’s military government, the death toll has climbed to 1,644.
In neighbouring Thailand, at least nine people were killed when the quake rattled buildings and brought down an under-construction skyscraper in the capital Bangkok.
Survivors in Mandalay, Myanmar’s second-biggest city, initially dug with bare hands in desperate attempts to save those trapped, lacking heavy machinery and with authorities absent from the scene.
On Saturday, rescue operations continued at the site of the 33-story building’s collapse in capital Bangkok, where 47 people were missing or trapped under the rubble including workers from Myanmar.
The US Geological Service’s predictive modelling has estimated Myanmar’s death toll as more than 10,000 adding that losses could exceed the country’s annual economic output.
Myanmar junta chief
Myanmar’s junta chief, Senior General Min Aung Hlaing made a rare call for international assistance a day before travelling to hard-hit Mandalay near the epicentre of the quake, which brought down buildings and triggered fires in some areas.
“The Chairman of the State Administration Council instructed authorities to expedite search and rescue efforts and address any urgent needs,” the junta said in a statement on state media, referring to Min Aung Hlaing
Myanmar’s opposition National Unity Government has initially put the losses at more than 2,900 buildings collapsed, 30 roads and seven bridges damaged by the quake.
