Survivors pulled from Myanmar earthquake rubble after four days

The National

01-04-2025

A 63-year-old woman was pulled alive from the rubble of a building in Naypyidaw, Myanmar, on Tuesday, four days after a 7.7-magnitude earthquake struck the country, as the chances of finding other survivors dwindled. The earthquake has killed at least 2,719 people and 441 remain missing, the head of the country's military government, Senior Gen Min Aung Hlaing, said on Tuesday. It destroyed more than 10,000 buildings in Myanmar and was felt strongly in Thailand, where a high-rise construction project collapsed and 21 people died. The fire brigade in Myanmar's capital said the woman was successfully pulled from the rubble 91 hours after being buried, in a joint rescue with teams from India, China and Russia. Experts say the likelihood of finding survivors drops dramatically after 72 hours. The military government's official Global New Light of Myanmar newspaper also reported on Tuesday that a team of Chinese rescuers had saved four people the day before from the ruins of the Sky Villa, a large apartment complex that collapsed during the quake. They included a five-year-old and a pregnant woman who had been trapped for more than 60 hours. The same publication also reported that two teenagers crawled out of the rubble of the same building using their phone flashlights to help guide them. The rescue workers were able to use what they were told to locate their grandmother and a sibling. Rescue teams from countries including Russia, China, India, the United Arab Emirates, plus several South-East Asian countries are on the scene. The US embassy said an American team had been sent but hadn't yet arrived. Julia Rees, of the UN children's fund, who has just returned from one of the worst-affected areas near the epicentre in central Myanmar, said entire communities had been flattened, and that the destruction and psychological trauma were immense. "And yet, this crisis is still unfolding. The tremors are continuing. Search and rescue operations are ongoing. Bodies are still being pulled from the rubble," she said in a statement. "Let me be clear: the needs are massive, and they are rising by the hour. The window for a life-saving response is closing. The civil war in Myanmar, where the military seized power in a coup in 2021, has complicated rescue efforts. Amnesty International said the government is still conducting air strikes in areas affected by the earthquake. 'Myanmar's military, along with all other actors involved in earthquake relief efforts, must ensure that human rights principles are fully respected and that the humanitarian needs of survivors are the top priority,' Amnesty International's Myanmar researcher Joe Freeman said. 'You cannot ask for aid with one hand and bomb with the other. Carrying out air strikes and attacking civilians in the same region where the earthquake struck is inhumane and shows a blatant disregard for human rights.' - Agencies contributed to this report