Earthquake in Myanmar Child and woman rescued after 60 hours - hundreds of people still missing
Three days after the devastating earthquake in Myanmar, Chinese rescue workers have rescued several people alive from the rubble - including a small child and a pregnant woman. Hundreds are still missing.
31.03.2025, 07:58
31.03.2025, 09:39
SDA
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- After the earthquake in Myanmar, five trapped people, including a child and a pregnant woman, were rescued alive from the rubble after 60 hours.
- The 7.7-magnitude quake claimed at least 1,700 lives and caused numerous buildings to collapse, particularly in Mandalay and Sagaing.
- According to the junta, around 300 people are still missing, while rescue teams, including Chinese forces, are still in action.
Around 60 hours after the severe earthquake in Myanmar, rescue workers have rescued three people trapped in the rubble, including a five-year-old child.
In addition, a pregnant woman and a 29-year-old woman who were buried under the collapsed Sky Villa Condo high-rise building in the city of Mandalay were rescued alive by Chinese emergency services, reported the Myanmar Now news agency, citing the Chinese embassy in Myanmar.
Hundreds still missing
The missing people were discovered in the early morning (local time), it said. No further details were initially released.
According to the ruling junta, around 300 people are still missing in the civil war-torn country. At least 1,700 have died. The 7.7-magnitude quake caused many buildings to collapse, particularly in Mandalay and the Sagaing region.
Smell of corpses spreads across Myanmar
Three days after the severe earthquake in Myanmar, which affected neighboring Thailand, rescue and search operations are continuing in both countries.
The situation is particularly confusing in crisis-hit Myanmar, where a brutal military junta rules and the flow of information is difficult. In the morning, there were initially no new figures on deaths and missing persons on state television.
No international media allowed
The aid organization Save the Children reported that many families had sought refuge in monasteries and on football pitches for fear of aftershocks. Meanwhile, numerous damaged roads and interrupted communication lines made relief efforts more difficult. At the same time, the junta, which had seized power at the beginning of 2021, had banned international media from accessing the disaster area, wrote the news agency Mynamar Now, citing General Zaw Min Htun.
Local media reported that residents in the particularly hard-hit Sagaing region were searching for missing people themselves because the rescue workers were unable to reach them. According to the news service Mizzima News, many people are still trapped in collapsed monasteries. At the same time, there is a bad smell of corpses in the air in the area.
Time is running out in Bangkok
In Bangkok, meanwhile, rescue teams continue to search feverishly for almost 80 missing people in a collapsed building shell. The teams are using excavators and sniffer dogs. Relatives waited desperately in front of the mountain of rubble that is still left of the 30-storey tower block. The 72 hours that trapped people can normally survive without food and water will soon be reached.
According to the city authorities, another body was recently recovered from the rubble. This brings the total death toll in the Thai capital to 18.
Quake also near Tonga
A severe earthquake was also reported near the island state of Tonga in the South Pacific. The US earthquake observatory USGS gave the magnitude of the earth tremors early Monday morning (local time) as 7.0. The center was located 73 kilometers from the city of Pangai at a depth of 29 kilometers.
There were initially no reports of damage or casualties. Radio New Zealand reported that it was the strongest quake in Tonga for ten years. There were also several strong aftershocks. However, an original tsunami warning was lifted.
