Myanmar: Four rescued from collapsed buildings after deadly quake

 

 

Three days after a strong 7.7-magnitude earthquake hit Southeast Asia, rescue teams are still working to find survivors. In Myanmar’s Mandalay, the city nearest the epicenter of the earthquake, rescuers freed four individuals, including a pregnant woman and a child, from rubble, China’s Xinhua news agency reported. As of Sunday, Myanmar’s official death toll was over 1,700, with some indicating it was as many as 2,028. Myanmar declared a seven-day mourning period for the victims of the disaster.

 

“It doesn’t matter how long we work. The most important thing is that we can bring hope to the local people,” said Yue Xin, head of the China Search and Rescue Team, which was involved in the successful rescues in Mandalay. Meanwhile, in Thailand, signs of life were discovered in the rubble of a collapsed skyscraper in Bangkok, which was still under construction when the earthquake struck.

 

Authorities are working quickly to access the area where survivors might be trapped. Deputy Governor Tavida Kamolvej stated, “By medical standards, realistic chances of survival diminish after 72 hours. We have to speed up. We’re not going to stop even after 72 hours.” The rescue operation is underway, despite the growing uncertainty, with 76 people still missing at the construction site. Thailand’s official death toll was 18 as of Sunday, but that is likely to increase.