The confirmed death toll from a devastating earthquake rose to more than 1,600, according to state television in Myanmar.
The total of 1,644 is a sharp rise over the 1,002 total announced hours earlier, underlining the difficulty of confirming casualties over a widespread region and the likelihood that the numbers will continue to grow from Friday’s 7.7 magnitude quake.
Initial field reports indicate that upwards of 1,600 people have died, more than 2,200 people have been injured and more than 200 people remain missing as search-and-rescue operations continue. Most of the deaths were reported in the Mandalay area.
A state of emergency has been declared in six areas of Myanmar: the Bago region, the Mandalay region, the Naypyidaw territory, the Sagaing region and parts of Shan state.
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Damaged infrastructure in Myanmar is hindering humanitarian rescue operations, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said.
As the international community responds to Myanmar’s appeal for help, Ireland has donated €6 million in aid. Minister for Foreign Affairs Simon Harris said: “Funding from Ireland will support a locally led response and provide assistance to those most impacted by this disaster.”
Rescue efforts are under way especially in the major stricken cities of Mandalay and Naypyitaw, the Myanmar capital.
But even though teams and equipment have been flown in from other nations, they are hindered by the airports in those cities being damaged and apparently unfit to land planes.
A state of emergency has been declared in six regions and states in Myanmar by the military-run government.
At least nine people were killed in neighbouring Thailand, where the 7.7 magnitude quake rattled buildings and brought down a skyscraper under construction in the capital Bangkok, trapping 30 people under debris, with 49 missing.
The US geological service’s predictive modelling estimated the death toll could exceed 10,000 in Myanmar and that losses could exceed the country’s annual economic output.
The quake damaged roads, bridges and buildings in Myanmar, according to the junta, whose top general made a rare call for international assistance on Friday.
“Search and rescue operations are currently being carried out in the affected areas,” the junta said in a statement on state media on Saturday.
[ Shockwaves from Myanmar earthquake reach IrelandOpens in new window ]
A Chinese rescue team arrived in Myanmar’s commercial capital of Yangon, hundreds of kilometres from the hard-hit cities on Mandalay and Naypyitaw, the country’s purpose-built capital, where parts of a 1,000-bed hospital were damaged.
Russia, India, Malaysia and Singapore were sending planeloads of relief supplies and personnel to Myanmar, which has been ravaged by a civil war after a 2021 military coup ousted an elected civilian government.
“We will continue to monitor the developments and more aid will follow,” Indian foreign minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar said.
South Korea said it would provide an initial $2 million in humanitarian aid to Myanmar through international organisations.
The United States, which has a testy relationship with the Myanmar military and has sanctioned its officials, including junta chief Min Aung Hlaing, has said it would provide some assistance.
In Mandalay, Myanmar’s second-biggest city, residents and rescue workers scrambled to pull people out from under collapsed buildings, struggling with limited heavy machinery available to remove debris.
[ In pictures: Myanmar and Thailand rocked by powerful earthquakeOpens in new window ]
After he was dragged out from under a wall by other residents, Htet Min Oo (25) said he tried to clear the rubble of a crumpled building himself to rescue his grandmother and two uncles – but eventually gave up.
“I don’t know if they are still alive under the debris,” he told Reuters, breaking into tears. “After so long, I don’t think there’s any hope.”
Susan Hough, a scientist in the US geological service’s earthquake hazards programme, told Reuters it was difficult to predict an earthquake’s death toll, for various reasons including timing.
When a quake strikes during the daytime, as it did in Myanmar, “people are awake, they have their wits about them, they are better able to respond”, she said.
In Bangkok, 1,000km from the epicentre, a rescue mission stepped up its efforts on Saturday to find construction workers trapped under the rubble of the collapsed 33-storey tower.
Authorities used excavators, drones and search-and-rescue dogs to try to extricate the 30 people stuck, including at least 15 still showing signs of life.
“We will do everything, we will not give up on saving lives, we will use all resources,” Bangkok governor Chadchart Sittipunt said at the site.
After the city ground to a halt on Friday, hundreds spent the night in parks, but the situation was improving on Saturday, he said.
Waanpetch Panta sat at the site of the collapsed building with her husband, watching the rescue operations and waiting for news of their 18-year-old daughter, who is among the missing.
“I prayed that my daughter was among those taken to the hospital already,” she said, “All I can do is sit and wait like this.”
Ireland is donating €6 million to help respond to the “devastating” earthquake.
A total of €3 million is to be given to the International Federation of the Red Cross (IFRC) and Myanmar Red Cross Society.
A further €1.5 million is being donated to the Myanmar Humanitarian Fund and another €1.5 million to the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) Joint Response Plan, which is responding to the urgent needs of displaced Rohingya people.
Mr Harris said the destruction would place “extraordinary pressure” on many people already in need. “Ireland stands in solidarity with the people of Myanmar and will provide immediate emergency humanitarian assistance,” he said. – Reuters
