Myanmar-Thailand earthquake updates: 1,700 killed, aftershocks cause panic

Thank you for joining our live coverage of the aftermath of the devastating earthquake that struck parts of Myanmar and Thailand on Friday.

You can continue following the story by reading our up-to-date news piece here.

And you can also check out our report from Sagaing, the central Myanmar city closest to the epicentre of the magnitude 7.7 quake, here.

We also have a picture gallery from both Myanmar and Thailand here.

We’ll be closing this live page soon, so let’s bring you up to speed with the day’s main developments:

• Myanmar has been hit by more powerful aftershocks, hindering rescue efforts for those still missing after Friday’s magnitude 7.7 earthquake.
• Some 1,700 people have now been confirmed dead, but there are fears the death toll could be significantly higher.
• At least 3,400 people have been injured and many others are still missing.
• Poorly equipped rescuers and volunteers are digging through the ruins of collapsed buildings looking for bodies.
• Opposition forces have declared a unilateral two-week ceasefire but accuse the military government of continuing to carry out attacks.

The Karen National Union, one of Myanmar’s oldest ethnic armies, has issued a statement criticising the military government for continuing to carry out air attacks “targeting civilian areas, even as the population suffers tremendously from the earthquake”.

The group said under normal circumstances, the military would be prioritising relief efforts, but instead is focused on “deploying forces to attack its people”.

There was no immediate comment from the military government.

Chris Gunness, the director of Myanmar Accountability Project, has accused Myanmar’s military government of using “disproportionate and indiscriminate force against the very people who they say they are trying to assist”.

“This is an utter abomination. Even as the earthquake was striking, junta jets were attacking targets in Sagaing, the very epicentre of the earthquake,” he told Al Jazeera.

Gunness urged the UN Security Council to adopt a resolution enforcing an extended humanitarian pause that would explicitly ban the usage of fighter jets, helicopters, motor paragliders and drones.

“There must be a no-fly zone imposed; we cannot see the junta using jets to bomb people,” he said, also calling for humanitarian access across the country and the restoration of telecommunications.

“If we are going to have a proper aid operation, that needs to come to force,” Gunness added, urging the international community to work with local, non-military government groups and ensure their protection.

Myanmar’s military government seized power in a 2021 coup, led by Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, ending the country’s short-lived experiment with democracy after nearly 50 years of military rule.

The military government is now fighting several rebel and ethnic groups across the country, all of whom oppose military rule.

Its operations are largely funded through state-controlled businesses and international financial transactions, despite widespread sanctions.

Military-controlled entities such as the Myanmar Economic Holdings Limited generate significant revenue for the current government.

In addition, the military government has secured substantial arms deals with countries like Russia and China, giving it access to advanced weaponry.

Myanmar’s military government has continued to carry out attacks, even as Myanmar’s main rebel movement announced a unilateral partial ceasefire to aid rescue efforts following the devastating earthquake.

Air attacks have been reported on Pauk township in the country’s northwest.

Military forces also attacked Bhamo, in Kachin state, which borders China.

As we’ve been reporting, Myanmar has faced widespread conflict since the 2021 military coup, with ethnic rebel groups fighting the military government.

We have a regrettable update about the effort to save the pregnant woman who was under the wreckage of the Sky Villa apartment complex in Myanmar’s second city of Mandalay.

AFP is reporting that its journalists at the scene saw that Mathu Thu Lwin was pronounced dead shortly after she was freed after more than 55 hours under the rubble.

Rescuers thought they had saved the life of the 35-year-old but they were unable to resuscitate her after extracting her from the ruins.

The United States Embassy in Myanmar has issued a statement saying the US government will provide up to $2m “through Myanmar-based humanitarian assistance organizations” to support communities affected by the earthquake.

It added that an emergency response team from the US Agency for International Development (USAID), which is underergoing massive cuts under the administration of US President Donald Trump, is deploying to Myanmar “to identify the people’s most pressing needs, including emergency shelter, food, medical needs, and access to water”.

“The United States stands with the people of Myanmar as they work to recover from the devastation. We offer our deepest condolences for the loss of life and infrastructure in this difficult time,” the statement concluded.

In Mandalay, Myanmar’s second-largest city, a shortage of specialised equipment has left rescue workers and the relatives of people trapped digging with their bare hands to find survivors.

Conditions are harsh.

Along with crumpled roads, entire blocks of buildings either badly damaged or destroyed, and power cut to most of the city, Mandalay sweltered in temperatures as high as 39 degrees Celsius (102 degrees Fahrenheit).

Earlier, distraught Ko Lin Maw could do little but wait for help at his toppled home in Mandalay.

“My mother and my two sons are still trapped under the debris,” he told Al Jazeera.

Even if he could get a signal on his mobile phone to call for help, the few rescue teams in Mandalay are prioritising larger sites of disaster where many people are believed trapped, Ko Lin Maw said.

“The number of rescue workers is clearly not enough to save victims,” he said, lamenting that 48 hours had passed since the earthquake hit and neither an adequate number of emergency workers nor aid supplies had yet reached the city.

The smell of decaying bodies is everywhere in Sagaing, the city closest to the epicentre of the devastating magnitude 7.7 earthquake that struck Myanmar on Friday.

“Now with every gust of wind, the smell of dead bodies fills the air,” Thar Nge, a resident of Sagaing, told Al Jazeera.

“At this point, more bodies are being recovered than survivors,” Thar Nge said, explaining how rescue workers from nearby Mandalay had just arrived in Sagaing earlier in the day, after the Yadanabon Bridge, spanning the Irrawaddy River, reopened.

The nearby Ava Bridge, built some 90 years ago during British colonial rule, was among the many structures to collapse when the quake hit more than 48 hours ago. The quake killed at least 1,700 people and injured more than 3,400 – a preliminary casualty toll that is certain to rise as the full extent of the catastrophe becomes known in the coming hours and days.

“Rescue teams from Mandalay couldn’t reach us immediately because a bridge collapsed. That’s why they only arrived today,” said Thar Nge, surveying the ruins of the city and saying he had now lost hope of finding his son alive.

Read more here.

The United Nations children’s agency says it is rushing aid into the quake-affected areas.

“What we’re attempting to do is get initial supplies on the ground so that we can make sure that children have access to safe water,” UNICEF’s Trevor Clark told Al Jazeera.

He also said it’s “really critical” that children are provided with recreational activities so that “they have some sense of normalcy in such a chaotic time as well.”

Clark stressed that it is also “essential” to address now the trauma children are facing.

“If we don’t do it now, the impact in years down the road will be quite extensive.”

Here’s what you need to know:

• Many countries have responded to calls by the military government for international aid, with China, India, and Russia among those who have sent rescue teams.
• The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies has launched an emergency appeal for more than $100m to help victims of the earthquake.
• The USGS says a magnitude 5.1 aftershock hit 21km (13 miles) northwest of Mandalay in central Myanmar.
• The UN’s humanitarian agency says hospitals in central and northwestern Myanmar are “struggling to cope with the influx of people injured during the earthquake”.
• Myanmar’s shadow National Unity Government has declared a two-week partial ceasefire to allow for relief operations.

At a destroyed Buddhist examination hall in hard-hit Mandalay, responders from Myanmar and China have been working to find people under the rubble.

Rescuers said 21 people had been saved while 13 bodies had been recovered, according to AFP.

At least two more people were still believed to be alive in the rubble.

San Nwe Aye, sister of a 46-year-old monk missing in the collapsed hall, appeared in deep distress and told the news agency she has heard no news about his status.

“I want to hear the sound of him preaching,” she said. “The whole village looked up to him.”

The international NGO has released a statement saying that, along with partners, it is “providing lifesaving aid in earthquake affected areas in Myanmar with an immediate need for water, food and health care services for children and their families”.

“Hospitals and clinics are reportedly overwhelmed with thousands of injured people, and families have been seeking shelter in monasteries, football fields and other open spaces, due to fear of aftershocks”, Save the Children said.

It said the affected regions of Myanmar are home to more than 28 million people – about half of Myanmar’s population – including an estimated 6.7 million children.

In Thailand, it said “many schools and other buildings are still unsafe to use after the earthquake, potentially impacting the education of thousands of children” and that 28,000 displaced children live on the Thai-Myanmar border.

“Lifesaving aid is the urgent priority, but providing mental health support to survivors, especially children, is also crucial,” said Jeremy Stoner, the organisation’s acting Asia regional director.

Foreign ministers from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations have released a statement saying they recognise “the urgent need for humanitarian assistance and ASEAN stands ready to support relief and recovery efforts”.

They said the ASEAN Emergency Response and Assessment Team will be deployed to assist in these efforts, and the Disaster Emergency Logistics System for ASEAN will be utilised.

ASEAN, the 10-nation bloc which Myanmar joined in 1997, has been leading international diplomatic efforts on Myanmar but has made little progress since unveiling the so-called five-point consensus to end the civil war.

Myanmar’s military government has ignored the plan and has been excluded from several ASEAN summits and ministerial meetings.