Hopes that more survivors will be found in the rubble are fading today in Mandalay, where most residents spent another night in the open after the devastating 7,7-magnitude earthquake, which left more than 1.700 dead in Myanmar and Thailand.
Experts do not hide their fear that many thousands more will ultimately die, especially in the former Burma of approximately 55 million inhabitants, despite the mobilization of the international community to offer aid to the Asian state where civil war is raging and the lack of resources is acute.
Friday's 7,7-magnitude quake was followed a short time later by a 6,7-magnitude aftershock centered in central Myanmar. Since then, aftershocks have been felt continuously along the Sagaing Fault, around which much of Myanmar's population lives.
The earthquake, the strongest Myanmar has experienced in decades, caused scenes of chaos and panic as far as 1.000 kilometers from the epicenter, in Bangkok, where at least 18 people are dead, mainly due to the collapse of a 30-story building under construction.
In Mandalay, Myanmar's second largest city, strewn with debris, the intensity of rescue efforts had decreased in the morning compared to the previous day, as the temperature was expected to reach 40° Celsius.
Tropical conditions are a harsh test for the physical and mental endurance of teams operating at disaster sites and accelerate the decomposition of bodies under the rubble, making the process of identifying them much more complicated.
However, a woman was pulled alive after 60 hours in the hotel rubble, following a five-hour operation by rescue teams from China, Russia and Myanmar. According to a statement from the Chinese embassy, she was in stable condition this morning.
However, another pregnant woman was not so lucky. Rescuers pulled her from the rubble after she was trapped for over 55 hours. They amputated one of her legs in the hope of keeping her alive. In vain.
"We tried everything to save her," said a member of the medical team after determining her death, as she had lost too much blood.
The funerals of hundreds of victims are expected to take place today, the day when the Muslim community, in mourning, would normally celebrate Eid, the end of the month of Ramadan.
It will be very difficult to ascertain the death toll in Myanmar, a country as isolated as it is fragmented: the ruling generals are at war with a myriad of rebel groups, mainly ethnic minorities, as well as their political opponents. But the very rare appeal for international help made by the head of the military junta, Min Aung Hlaing, attests to the scale of the devastation.
Officially, the authorities yesterday spoke of approximately 1.700 dead, 3.400 injured and 300 missing.
The worst disaster of the last 100 years
The World Health Organization (WHO) classified the earthquake yesterday, Sunday, at the highest level of emergency, while the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) appealed for more than $100 million to provide aid.
China, Malaysia and India have already deployed teams, while Indonesia's are expected to arrive and operate today.
The civil war that erupted after mass protests against the military junta that overthrew the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi on February 1, 2021, has strained the health system — understaffed, unable to handle such a flood of victims, according to humanitarian agencies and organizations. The situation was already dire before the earthquake, as the war has forced more than 3,5 million vulnerable people to flee, according to the United Nations.
The earthquake did not stop the military from continuing its military operations, according to rebel groups. In Shan State (northeast), an airstrike killed at least seven fighters, according to the faction they belonged to. Similar bombings were reported in Karen State.
In Bangkok, operations to locate survivors in the rubble of a 30-story government building that collapsed, trapping some 80 workers, are continuing.
The metropolitan government announced that the public transportation system has returned to normal operation, after it was suspended for inspection.
Source: news247
