Myanmar earthquake: death toll passes 1,600 as search for survivors continues
Source: The Guardian and agencies
Myanmar earthquake: death toll passes 1,600 as search for survivors continues
Aid agencies warn of ‘extremely difficult’ response amid Myanmar’s continuing civil war with true scale of disaster yet to emerge
Rebecca Ratcliffe in Bangkok, Esther J and agencies
Sat 29 Mar 2025 14.26 GMT
First published on Sat 29 Mar 2025 04.03 GMT
The death toll from a huge earthquake that hit Myanmar has passed 1,600, as rescuers continue a desperate search for survivors and aid agencies warn of an “extremely difficult” response amid the country’s continuing conflict.
The shallow 7.7-magnitude quake struck central Myanmar on Friday afternoon, and was followed minutes later by a 6.7-magnitude aftershock. Witness reports and social media footage suggest extensive damage in Mandalay, Myanmar’s second biggest city, where buildings, religious sites and main roads were either destroyed or damaged.
Myanmar’s military junta said 1,644 people had been killed and 3,408 injured, while a further 139 others were missing. Six deaths have also been confirmed in Bangkok, the Thai capital, where a high-rise building under construction collapsed, trapping dozens of workers. A further 26 are injured and 47 still missing.
The update came after rescuers pulled a woman alive from the wreckage of a collapsed apartment building in Mandalay, 30 hours after a devastating quake hit Myanmar.
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Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/mar/29/myanmar-earthquake-death-toll-rises-to-almost-700-as-search-for-survivors-continues
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