Myanmar earthquake: UN cautions rescue window closing as death toll near 3,000

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Rescue groups in Myanmar described scenes of devastation and frustration after the earthquake on Tuesday, killing more than 2,700 people, who emphasized the urgent need for food, water and shelter and warned the window that they were shutting down to find the survivors.

Myanmar’s military ruler Man Ang Hilang said in the television address that the death toll from 7.7 magnitude on Friday increased to 3,000, which reached 2,719 on Tuesday, 4,521 people were injured and 441 were missing.

The earthquake, which was killed on Friday at lunch, was the strongest to target the Southeast Asian country in more than a century, which dropped ancient Pagodas and modern buildings alike.

It has suffered significant damage to Myanmar’s second City Mandala and Napita, the capital, which aimed at being an unacceptable fort.

The death toll in neighboring Thailand has increased to 21, where the earthquake damaged hundreds of buildings. Rescuers pressured them to find life in the rubble of a collapsed Filkbose building in Bangkok, the capital, but the recognized time was against them.

In Myanmar, UN agencies said hospitals have been overwhelmed and there are relief efforts due to infrastructure damage and civil war in the country. The rebels accused the army of conducting airstrikes even after the earthquake, and on Tuesday, a rebel alliance announced a unilateral ceasefire to assist in relief efforts.

Rescue groups increased the alarm over food, water and cleaning. The region was also being subjected to aftershocks on Tuesday.

The United Nations Children’s Agency, UNICEF’s Julia Race, has just returned from one of the worst affected areas near the Central Myanmar center, said the entire communities were flattened and the disaster and psychological trauma was huge.

He said in a statement, “And yet, the crisis is still coming. The earthquake is underway. Search and rescue work are underway. The bodies are still being pulled out of the rubble.”

“Let me be clear: the requirements are widespread, and they are rising for an hour. The window of a life -saving response is closing.”

Relief efforts in the civil war complicated

The UN humanitarian agency said 50 children and two teachers were killed in the Mandala area, killing their pre -school.

In a rare story of survival, a 63 -year -old woman was pulled from the rubble of a building in Nipita after being trapped for 91 hours.

The Myanmar Fire Department said that after a joint rescue with teams from India, China and Russia, they were found on Tuesday morning and were evacuated an hour later.

The civil war in Myanmar, where the army seized power in the uprising in 2021, made complex efforts to reach the wounded and made homeless, including strict control over the Internet and other communications networks.

On Sunday, a rebel group, the Karen National Union, said that Junta held airstrikes in the east of the country at a time when it should prefer the earthquake relief efforts.

During the war with the Janata on Tuesday, three Brotherhood of three major rebel groups announced a one -sided one -month ceasefire, allowing humanitarian efforts to “be immediately and effectively” as soon as possible and effectively.

Amnesty International said that Jinta should allow aid to reach the areas that are not under its rule.

“The Myanmar army has a long -standing practice of refusing aid in areas where the resistance groups are active,” said Freeman, a researcher in Myanmar, said Freeman. “It will immediately allow access to all humanitarian organizations without interruption.”

In his speech, Jinta’s leader Man Ang Hilang talked about “learning lessons” and criticized the poor quality of construction. “Some buildings were built cheaply, without spending enough money on them,” he said.

It is unclear whether Man Ang Hilling will travel extraordinarily to attend the regional summit in Bangkok this weekend. The Thai Foreign Ministry said on Tuesday that the general could participate through telecommunications.

‘We will continue’

In Bangkok, the rescue car was still penetrating the ruins of an incomplete skyscraper that had fallen to any symbols of life, but was aware that four days of the earthquake had passed, the difficulties of finding the survivors became longer.

There were an estimated 70 bodies below the debris, and experts said that there were 12 cases using the scanners, but the large debris stopped the route and the researchers were cutting the concrete slabs to remove them.

“Our focus is on survival. There are issues where people have survived a week,” Bangkok’s Governor Chadchart Setupont told reporters.

“We cannot say that there is no hope … if there is structure and air and no direct heat. We will continue.”

Multinational teams supported the search and rescue efforts, including US and Israeli personnel, because the family and friends said they had the worst fear.

“Rescue teams are trying their best. I can see,” said 19 -year -old Artithp Lalud, who was waiting for his brother’s news.

Thai industry ministry officials said preliminary tests show that some of the steel samples collected from the demolished building space were non -standard. The government has launched an investigation into the reasons for the end.

Fourteen deaths have been confirmed at the site of the building and seven somewhere in the city.