As Myanmar earthquake deaths top 3,000, BBC goes undercover to reveal devastation near epicenter in Mandalay
The death official death toll from the massive
earthquake that hit Myanmar
nearly a week ago rose Thursday to 3,085 as search and rescue teams found more bodies, the internationally isolated nation's military-led government said, and humanitarian aid groups scrambled to provide survivors medical care and shelter. In a short statement, the military said another 4,715 people have been injured and 341 are missing.
The epicenter of Friday's 7.7 magnitude earthquake was near Mandalay, Myanmar's second-largest city. It brought down thousands of buildings, buckled roads and destroyed bridges in multiple regions. Local media reports of casualties have been much higher than the official figures, and with telecommunications widely out and many places difficult to reach, it's thought the numbers could rise sharply as more details come in.
The military junta that seized power of Myanmar in 2021 has maintained strict control over its borders since the disaster, refusing to let foreign journalists in and keeping up operations against rebel forces in the divided nation until Wednesday, when it declared a temporary ceasefire in the brutal civil war.
CBS News' partner network BBC News, however, managed to sneak a team into Myanmar, with correspondent Yogita Limaye visiting the devastated city of Mandalay to witness the destruction first-hand before leaving to file
her report
from neighboring Thailand on Wednesday evening.
Without formal access to recovery sites or government officials, the BBC team's ability to assess official rescue and recovery efforts was limited, but Limaye's report painted a picture of a crisis exacerbated by an extremely limited influx of foreign assistance — and a major city desperately in need of help.
The World Health Organization said that according to its initial assessment, four hospitals and one health center in Myanmar had been completely destroyed while another 32 hospitals and 18 health centers had been partially damaged.
"With infrastructure compromised and patient numbers surging, access to health care has become nearly impossible in many of the worst-hit areas," the U.N. said. "Thousands of people are in urgent need of trauma care, surgical interventions and treatment for disease outbreaks."
A mobile hospital from India and a joint Russian-Belarusian hospital also were now operating in Mandalay, but the BBC report showed much of the little assistance reaching survivors in Mandalay was being provided by small local groups, or ad hoc by survivors. Limaye found no evidence of a major mobilization of Myanmar's military forces to help in search and rescue efforts, and it was unclear Thursday whether the newly announced ceasefire — which the junta said would last only until April 22 — might free up some troops to join that work.
Limaye and her team covertly visited the main hospital in Mandalay, where hundreds of quake victims were lined up in rows of beds in the scorching heat outside, as the facility itself was too badly damaged by the quake to continue using. There was a clear lack of medics on hand to treat the wounded, some of whom had only family members to console them as they awaited treatment for serious injuries.
The video surreptitiously recorded by the BBC as Limaye's team drove through central Mandalay showed most buildings seriously damaged and many completely toppled. The work to recover victims' remains from vast piles of twisted metal and concrete was scattered, and one woman told Limaye she had been waiting several days for anyone to come and help find her son, a construction worker believed to be among five trapped in a large building that was left at almost a 45-degree angle, with its lower floors crushed by the quake.
Thousands of people have been left homeless, and the BBC's video showed many others choosing to camp outside their homes in Mandalay, clearly scared that ongoing aftershocks could still topple their damaged homes.
Some search and rescue teams have been allowed in by the junta, including from allies China and India, and residents in Mandalay gave slices of watermelon to Chinese volunteers taking a break from the heat on Thursday. More than 1,550 international rescuers were operating alongside locals Thursday, according to a statement from the military, which said rescue supplies and equipment had been sent by a total of 17 countries.
Myanmar's military seized power in 2021 from the democratically elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi, sparking what quickly turned into a civil war. The military junta's control over the country is patchy, and there were reports that it continued bombarding some rebel held areas — including areas impacted by the quake — even after declaring the ceasefire.
The quake worsened an already dire humanitarian crisis, with more than 3 million people displaced from their homes and nearly 20 million in need even before it hit, according to the United Nations.
It was only as the international community voiced concern that ongoing fighting could hamper humanitarian aid efforts that the military declared the temporary ceasefire on Wednesday. The announcement followed unilateral temporary ceasefires announced by armed resistance groups opposed to military rule.
The military said it would still take "necessary" measures against those groups if they tried to use the ceasefire to regroup, train or launch attacks. Already on Thursday there were reports from local media in Kachin state in the north of Myanmar that military attacks continued in several areas, but they could not be independently confirmed.
Prior to the earthquake the military was battling the Kachin Independence Army militia group. The KIA on Wednesday also declared a ceasefire but reserved the right to defend itself. It was unclear how the reported fighting broke out.
The earthquake shook Kachin, but there have been no reports of damage there.
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