Myanmar authorities report 1,644 deaths and 3,408 injuries as a result of the devastating 7.7 and 6.4 Richter magnitude earthquakes that occurred on Friday, March 28. The tremors were also felt in China and Thailand.
At least 1,644 people were killed and 3,408 injured in Myanmar's strong earthquake on Friday, according to the military junta that has ruled the country since 2021. Another 139 people were reported missing, it said.
Figures from Thailand also emerged, with Bangkok city hall reporting that 10 people were confirmed dead, 42 injured and 78 reported missing as of 6:30 p.m. local time (11:30 a.m. GMT).
The number of casualties and injured is expected to rise further as debris is cleared.
A rescue official from Mandalay, Myanmar's second-largest city, told the BBC that "the damage is huge". Rescue work continued into the night despite numerous aftershocks.
Earthquakes measuring 7.7 and 6.4 rocked Myanmar on Friday, 28 March, the United States Geological Survey (USGS) reported.
According to the USGS, the first, stronger earthquake, at a depth of 10 km, occurred on Friday afternoon in central Myanmar, around 12:50 pm local time. The second quake followed about 12 minutes later.
The epicentre of the earthquake was 16 km north-west of the town of Sagaing, near Mandalay, the second largest city in the country (population 1.2 million).
The area is about 100 km north of Myanmar's capital, Naypyidaw.
The tremor was also felt in Thailand and China.
"Victims are increasing, but we don't have enough doctors and nurses," Dr Kyaw Zin told reporters.
A rescue worker in Mandalay told the BBC that in Mandalay "most buildings have collapsed".
"The sight of Mandalay when we started the rescue operation was terrifying," the rescuer said, describing how people were "running in the streets, screaming and crying".
"We had to rescue people from under the rubble. The general hospital in Mandalay was almost full," he said. Many of the earthquake victims also suffered heart attacks, he says.
The hospital building itself was also damaged, the rescuer says.
One Mandalay resident says he felt the ground shake violently for about 10 seconds. "Our entire house collapsed before my eyes. I couldn't breathe, but later I managed to scream and call for help," he recalls. - A few seconds after my relatives pulled me out from under the rubble, another earthquake occurred and the building we were running towards collapsed. I was so scared and in pain that I couldn't walk, so my father dragged me."
According to the man, of the seven people who were in the same house with him, two women escaped, one of whom later died. "My grandmother, aunt and uncles have not been found yet - they are still under the rubble. Their chances of survival are zero percent," he says.
A Yangon resident tells CNN that the tremors were felt for several minutes.
"The tremors were very strong and lasted for three or four minutes. The house I live in started shaking," he said.
He said the internet worked without interruption, but after the quake he was unable to call for another 30 minutes.
A Mandalay resident told Reuters of the destruction, "When everything started shaking, we ran out of the house. A five-storey building collapsed in front of my eyes. Everyone who lives in the city is now outside, no one dares to go back into the buildings."
An eyewitness to the earthquake, Het Naing Oo, tells reporters that a tea shop in Mandalay has collapsed, and several people are stranded inside. "We couldn't get in," she said. "The situation is very bad."
The royal palace in Mandalay is known to have been damaged and a bridge over the Irrawaddy River has collapsed.
Myanmar's military junta has declared a state of emergency in Sagaing, Mandalay, Bogo and Magway townships in eastern Shan state, as well as in the capital Naypyidaw.
Junta leader Min Aung Hlaing has appealed to the world community for help.
"I would like to invite every country, every organization, every person to help. Thank you," he said in a televised address, adding that he had "opened all avenues for foreign aid."
The US, EU and ASEAN have pledged assistance to Myanmar, as have India, China and Russia, which have already sent a rescue and medical team to the country. I BGNES
