Latest news with #MargaretHarris
Scoop
19-05-2025
- Health
- Scoop
Gazans ‘In Terror' After Another Night Of Deadly Strikes And Siege
16 May 2025 Updating journalists in Geneva, World Health Organization (WHO) spokesperson Dr. Margaret Harris described another night of terror in the war-torn enclave. She said that some of those injured in the attacks had sought help from the Indonesian hospital in northern Gaza, even though it was now ' just a shell ' after 19 months of war. 'We've done our best to bring it back together and they are doing their best to treat everyone, but [medical teams] lack everything needed,' she insisted. Rejecting accusations that relief supplies have been handed over to Hamas, the WHO spokesperson said that 'in the health sector, we've not seen that. All we see is a desperate need at all times.' Echoing that message, the UN aid coordination office, OCHA, explained that a stringent system of checks and reports to donors meant that all relief supplies were closely tracked in real time, making diversion highly unlikely. Even if it were happening, ' it's not at a scale that justifies closing down an entire life-saving aid operation,' OCHA spokesperson Jens Laerke said. ' If you had been in a coma for the last three years and you woke up and saw this for the first time, anyone with common sense would say this is insane. ' The development comes more than 10 weeks since the Israeli authorities stopped all food, fuel, medicines and more from reaching Gaza. To date, their proposal for an alternative aid distribution platform bypassing existing UN agencies – widely criticized by the humanitarian community - has not been implemented. The result has been rising malnutrition – unknown in Gaza before the war – and looming famine, while thousands of truckloads of essential supplies have had to be stored in Jordan and Egypt, according to UNRWA, the UN agency for Palestine refugees and the largest aid operation in Gaza. In its latest update, OCHA said that the UN and its partners have 9,000 truckloads of vital supplies ready to move into Gaza. More than half contain food assistance which could provide months of food for the enclave's 2.1 million people. An inventory of the relief supplies 'waiting just outside the borders to get in' illustrates their humanitarian purpose, Mr. Laerke said. Pasta and stationery: Weapons of war? 'It includes educational supplies, children's bags, shoes, size three to four years old and up to 10 years old; stationery and toys, rice, wheat flour and beans, eggs, pasta, various sweets, tents, water tanks, cold storage boxes, breastfeeding kits, breastmilk substitutes, energy biscuits, shampoo and hand soap, floor cleaner. I ask you, how much war can you wage with this? ' Mr. Laerke said that UN officials have held 14 meetings with the Israeli authorities about their proposed aid scheme, which if implemented would restrict aid 'to only part of Gaza' and exclude the most vulnerable. ' It makes starvation a bargaining chip,' he maintained. More than 53,000 people have been killed in Gaza since war erupted on 7 October 2023 in response to Hamas-led terror attacks on Israel, according to the health authorities. WHO said only 255 patients needing specialist care outside the Strip have been evacuated since 18 March leaving more than 10,000 patients – including approximately 4,500 children – who also need urgent medical attention outside Gaza. In response to this week's attack on the European General Hospital in Khan Younis, WHO's Dr. Harris noted that it had been used as a meeting point for an evacuation. 'That first bombing, as you probably know, destroyed two of the buses that we'd assembled to take children,' she added. On Tuesday, the Security Council heard the UN's top aid official Tom Fletcher call for immediate international pressure to stop Gaza's '21st century atrocity' – a message amplified by OCHA's Mr. Laerke: ' The situation as it has developed now is so grotesquely abnormal that some popular pressure on leaders around the world needs to happen,' he said. 'We know it is happening, I'm not saying that people are silent, because they are not. But it doesn't appear that their leaders are listening to them.' Israel's Gaza policy now 'tantamount to ethnic cleansing': Türk UN human rights Chief Volker Türk warned Friday that recent actions taken by Israel in Gaza – specifically Israeli strikes on hospitals and the continued denial of humanitarian aid – are 'tantamount to ethnic cleansing.' Before strikes on 13 May on the two of the largest hospitals in southern Gaza, there was already widespread devastation, with 53,000 Palestinians killed, according to local authorities, and all remaining civilians facing acute food shortages after multiple displacements. Mr. Türk reminded Israel that they are bound by international law which '[ensures] that constant care is taken to spare civilian lives,' something which he said was clearly not the case in the 13 May hospital strikes. 'The killing of patients or of people visiting their wounded or sick loved ones, or of emergency workers or other civilians just seeking shelter, is as tragic as it is abhorrent,' he said. 'These attacks must cease.'
BBC News
14-04-2025
- Health
- BBC News
Conditions at Gaza hospitals 'beyond description', WHO says
The World Health Organization has said conditions at hospitals in Gaza are "beyond description", after a major facility was put out of service by an Israeli air Dr Margaret Harris told the BBC it was seeing "attack after attack" on hospitals and healthcare workers, and medical supplies were critically low due to Israel's blockade of the Sunday, staff at al-Ahli hospital in Gaza City said an Israeli strike had destroyed its laboratory and damaged its emergency room. They did not report any direct casualties, but said a child died due to disruption of Israeli military said it hit a "command-and-control centre" used by Hamas to plan attacks. The hospital is run by the Church of England, whose bishops said they shared "grief, sorrow and outrage" with Palestinians over the attack and called on Israel to provide evidence to support its claim.A ceasefire in Gaza ended when Israel resumed its air and ground campaign four weeks ago, saying that military pressure would force Hamas to release the hostages it is still holding. Al-Ahli hospital was struck by two missiles around midnight on Sunday - the fifth time it has been hit since the beginning of the to the Anglican Diocese of Jerusalem, the two-storey genetic laboratory was demolished and the pharmacy and emergency department buildings were damaged. Surrounding buildings were also damaged, including St Philip's diocese said the Israel military gave a 20-minute warning to hospital staff and patients to evacuate before the were no casualties as a result of the strike, but one child who had previously suffered a head injury died as a result of the rushed evacuation process, it WHO Director General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said the UN agency had been told by al-Ahli's director that the emergency room, laboratory, emergency room X-ray machines, and the pharmacy were "destroyed".The hospital was forced to move 50 patients to other hospitals, but 40 patients in a critical condition could not be moved, he added."Hospitals are protected under international humanitarian law. Attacks on health care must stop. Once again we repeat: patients, health workers and hospitals must be protected."The Israeli foreign ministry said it was a "precise strike on a single building that was used by Hamas as a terror command and control centre" and where there was "no medical activity take place".It also stressed that an "early warning" was issued, and that the strike was "carried out while avoiding further damage to the hospital compound, which remained operational for continued medical treatment".Hamas condemned the attack as a "savage crime" and rejected the claim that it was using the facility for military purposes. On Monday, the Church of England's House of Bishops said in a statement they were "dismayed that hospitals have become battlegrounds in Gaza" and that Israel had "yet to provide clear and compelling evidence to substantiate its claim" that the hospital was being used by Hamas."Against that backdrop, we call for an independent, thorough and transparent investigation into this attack as well as the alleged misuse of the hospital."The bishops also said that "the extremely limited time given to staff and patients to evacuate the hospital was a further assault on fundamental human rights and basic human dignity".WHO representative Dr Rik Peeperkorn meanwhile told the BBC that al-Ahli was now unable to receive new patients pending repairs, and that this would "heavily impact trauma patients"."Al-Ahli was a key trauma hospital north of Wadi Gaza. It is the hospital with the only functional CT scanner north of Wadi Gaza," he said, referring to the valley that effectively divides the territory in two because it is an Israeli-designated "no-go" charity Medical Aid for Palestinians also quoted an orthopaedic surgeon at al-Ahli as saying that the level of care the hospital could provide to the 40 remaining patients was "quite similar to that of a hostel"."We are unable to perform any surgical procedures, as these patients require laboratory diagnostics, pharmacy support, and emergency referrals in case of complications - all of which have ceased entirely due to the recent attack," Dr Ahmed al-Shurafa said. The ICRC's head of sub-delegation in Gaza, Adrian Zimmermann, also warned that the wider shortage of medical supplies "puts the life and the wellbeing of Gazans who require healthcare services at risk".Dr Peeperkorn said they were running critically low because Israel had not allowed in any deliveries of humanitarian aid for more than six added that the WHO had stockpiled some supplies in its warehouses during the recent ceasefire, but that the Israeli military was not facilitating transfers between northern and southern Gaza."Last week, we had a discussion with one of the medical specialists at al-Ahli. He was telling us that they had to use the same surgical gowns and the same surgical gloves for various operations, while we have surgical gloves and gowns in our warehouse in Deir al-Balah [south of Wadi Gaza]," he recalled. "We want to bring them, but we are not facilitated."The Israeli military launched a campaign to destroy Hamas in response to an unprecedented cross-border attack on 7 October 2023, in which about 1,200 people were killed and 251 others were taken than 50,980 people have been killed in Gaza since then, according to the territory's Hamas-run health ministry.A ceasefire deal that began in January and lasted two months saw Hamas release 33 Israeli hostages – eight of them dead – and five Thai hostages in exchange for about 1,900 Palestinian prisoners and a surge in humanitarian aid entering resumed its offensive on 18 March, blaming Hamas's refusal to accept a proposal for an extension of the agreement's first phase and the release of more of the 59 hostages it is still holding, up to 24 of whom are believed to be accused Israel of violating the original deal, according to which there would be a second phase where all the remaining living hostages would be handed over and the war brought to a permanent Monday, a Hamas delegation led by the group's chief negotiator left Cairo without making any progress in talks with Egyptian mediators aimed at reaching a new ceasefire agreement, a senior Palestinian official familiar with the talks told the BBC."No breakthrough was achieved due to Israel's refusal to commit to ending the war and withdrawing from the Gaza Strip," the official said."Hamas showed flexibility, regarding the number of hostages to be released in order to make progress. But Israel wants the hostages back without ending the war," he has said it is waiting for a response to its latest proposal, sent at the end of last is understood to have reduced slightly the number of hostages it is demanding should be released in exchange for an extension of the truce and the entry of humanitarian aid.A group of hostages' families, known as the Tikvah Forum, said on Monday that the parents of Eitan Mor had been told by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that the government was working on a deal that would see 10 hostages freed - down from 11 or 12.
Saba Yemen
07-04-2025
- Health
- Saba Yemen
WHO: 90% of Pregnant & Breastfeeding Women in Gaza Suffer from Severe Malnutrition
Gaza – Saba: Margaret Harris, spokesperson for the World Health Organization (WHO), has stated that approximately 90% of pregnant and breastfeeding women in the Gaza Strip are suffering from severe malnutrition, highlighting that a shortage of medical equipment is hindering the delivery of necessary healthcare. As part of the 'World Health Week' events running from April 7 to 13, Harris presented the deteriorating health situation in Gaza, which has been subjected to a brutal war for the past year and a half. She added that maternal and child health in the strip has sharply declined since the onset of the Israeli offensive in October 2023. Many women and children are in urgent need of medical treatment, and there is a critical shortage of both food and medical aid reaching the area, further worsening the health crisis. Regarding the temporary ceasefire period, Harris explained that some hospitals resumed operations, with medical teams deployed and supported by international efforts. However, she noted that the renewed attacks following the ceasefire led to the destruction of several healthcare facilities, including Al-Nasser Hospital, leaving around 20 hospitals in Gaza partially operational and functioning with limited capacity. Whatsapp Telegram Email Print
Khaleej Times
30-03-2025
- Health
- Khaleej Times
Global aid effort begins for Myanmar deadly earthquake relief
A powerful earthquake has killed more than 1,600 people in war-torn Myanmar and neighbouring Thailand and caused widespread damage. Here is what we know about relief efforts: China China sent an 82-person team of rescuers to Myanmar on Saturday, Beijing's emergency management ministry said. A separate rescue team arrived in Myanmar's commercial hub Yangon on Saturday, state media said. The Chinese government will also provide Myanmar with 100 million yuan ($13.8 million) in emergency humanitarian assistance, with shipments to begin Monday, its international aid agency said Saturday. Hong Kong A 51-person team from Hong Kong has arrived in Myanmar, the financial hub's government said Sunday. The city also sent two search and rescue dogs and nine tonnes of equipment, including life detectors. The city has earmarked HK$30 million ($3.8 million) for emergency relief support to Myanmar, it said in a statement. India An Indian aid flight landed in Myanmar on Saturday, with more on the way. Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar said a military transport plane had been dispatched carrying hygiene kits, blankets, food parcels and other essentials. "A search and rescue team and medical team is also accompanying this flight," he added. Four more aircraft were being sent with personnel and equipment, including a field hospital, as well as two navy ships, officials said. WHO The World Health Organisation is mobilising its logistics hub in Dubai to prepare trauma injury supplies and had triggered its emergency management response. The global health body was coordinating its earthquake response from its Geneva headquarters "because we see this as a huge event" with "clearly a very, very big threat to life and health", spokesperson Margaret Harris told a media briefing. United Nations The UN humanitarian agency OCHA is mobilising emergency response efforts, alongside its partner organisations. "A severe shortage of medical supplies is hampering response efforts, including trauma kits, blood bags, anaesthetics, assistive devices, essential medicines, and tents for health workers," OCHA said in a statement Saturday. United States US President Donald Trump on Friday vowed Washington would assist Myanmar, describing the quake as "terrible". "It's a real bad one, and we will be helping. We've already spoken with the country," Trump told reporters. EU The European Union said it was providing 2.5 million euros ($2.7 million) in initial emergency aid and assessing the needs on the ground in order to mobilise further assistance. Britain Britain pledged £10 million ($12.9 million) in humanitarian aid, with development minister Jennifer Chapman saying UK-funded local partners were already mobilising on the ground. "This UK funding will increase support in the hardest hit areas of the earthquake and geared towards food and water supplies, medicine, and shelter," the foreign office said. Ireland Ireland announced it would contribute an initial six million euros in aid, with half going to Red Cross organisations and the other half to UN agencies. Malaysia Malaysia's foreign ministry said it would send a team to Myanmar consisting of one commander and 49 rescue personnel "to support ongoing humanitarian and disaster relief operations". Foreign Minister Mohamad Hasan said the regional bloc ASEAN, of which Myanmar and Thailand are members, "stands ready to assist" both countries. Philippines The Philippines said onSaturday it is sending a team of 114 people, including medics, firefighters and members of the armed forces. The team's tentative deployment date is Tuesday. Vietnam Vietnam said Sunday it would send 79 rescuers to help search and recovery efforts. The Public Security Ministry said it will send a team of police officers and medics, a ministry-run newspaper reported. All were to be deployed on Sunday. South Korea South Korea said it would send $2 million in humanitarian assistance "to support urgent rescue and relief efforts" after the earthquake. "The Korean government hopes that this support will help save lives and alleviate suffering in the affected areas," the foreign ministry said in a statement. New Zealand New Zealand said it would give NZ$2.0 million ($1.1 million) to the International Red Cross for the emergency response. "Our thoughts are with all those who have lost loved ones," Foreign Minister Winston Peters said.
Yahoo
28-03-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Thousands feared dead after earthquakes hit Myanmar and Thailand
Credit: Viral Press via Reuters Connect Thousands of people are feared dead after powerful earthquakes shook large areas of war-torn Myanmar and left a path of destruction as far afield as Bangkok. The quakes brought down a 30-storey skyscraper in the Thai capital, killing at least eight people and trapping ninety more under the rubble. The skyscraper was still under construction but collapsed dramatically as the quake jolted through the ground in the early afternoon in Southeast Asia on Friday. Myanmar's military junta confirmed that at least 144 people had died there, with the epicentre being located close to Mandalay, the reclusive country's second largest city. While quakes are common in Myanmar, which lies on the fault line between the Indian and Eurasian plates, this quake is being described as the most devastating since the 1950s. Video that has emerged from Myanmar shows people screaming as the 7.7-magnitude tremor pulled down buildings and tore holes in the street. The country's junta chief, Min Aung Hlaing, appealed to 'any country, any organisation' to help with relief and said he had opened routes for international assistance. Footage from cities near the epicentre shows buildings keeled over or collapsed in a heap of rubble. According to locals, the destruction is even worse in the nearby countryside. One rescue worker told the BBC that a hundred casualties had been counted in a single village. An air traffic control tower at the country's main international airport also collapsed, killing all staff who were on duty, Burmese media said. The US Geological Survey issued a red alert for deaths and damage, estimating that thousands of people are likely to have been killed. In Bangkok, as night fell in the Thai capital, rescue workers were working against the clock to save people caught under the ruins of a collapsed sky scraper. Interior Minister Anutin Charnvirakul said eight dead bodies have been recovered and, with between 90 and 110 people unaccounted for, the toll is expected to rise. 'We see several dead bodies under the rubble. We will take time to bring the bodies out to avoid any further collapses,' he told reporters. 'I heard people calling for help, saying 'help me',' Worapat Sukthai, deputy police chief of Bang Sue district, told AFP. The WHO, which has done an assessment in recent weeks of the best ways to get supplies into Myanmar, said on Friday it was 'ready to move.' 'We have to know exactly where, what and why. It's information from the ground that's really critical right now,' WHO spokeswoman Margaret Harris said. In China, the earthquake was felt in Yunnan and Sichuan provinces and caused damage to houses and injuries in the city of Ruili on the border with Myanmar, according to local media reports. Thanks for reading along. By chance, the WHO had done an assessment in recent weeks of the best ways to get supplies into Myanmar, WHO spokeswoman Margaret Harris told a media briefing. 'We are ready to move in - but now we have to know exactly where, what and why. It's information from the ground that's really critical right now,' she said . Doctors Without Borders (MSF) called for rapid access to affected areas and the timely approval of supplies and personnel. 'MSF medical and humanitarian staff in Myanmar and neighbouring countries are ready to respond at scale to the urgent needs of affected communities, once authorities facilitate swift and unhindered access for teams to do assessments and provide medical care,' it said in a statement. 'The ability to deploy assessment teams - and ideally, surgical teams - is crucial in the first hours and days after an earthquake to deliver life-saving surgical care for the injured.' 'The impact of the earthquake in Myanmar is likely to be severe, with possibly thousands of displaced people in need of urgent shelter, food and medical aid,' said Mohammed Riyas, regional director of the International Rescue Committee. 'We fear it may be weeks before we understand the full extent of destruction caused by this earthquake, as communication network lines are down and transport is disrupted,' he said. 'The damage to infrastructure and homes, loss of life, and injuries sustained by communities affected should not be underestimated.' Riyas said the IRC and its partners are working to understand how communities have been affected with the aim of launching an emergency response. He said in a statement that 'search and rescue operations are underway.' The United Nations is mobilising in Southeast Asia to help those in need, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said on Friday. 'The government of Myanmar has asked for international support and our team in Myanmar is already in contact in order to fully mobilise our resources in the region to support the people of Myanmar,' Guterres said. 'But of course there are other countries impacted. The epicentre is in Myanmar, and Myanmar is the weakest country in this present situation,' he added. At least nine people have died in Bangkok as a result of Friday's earthquake, an official told Reuters, with the death toll steadily rising in Thailand as well as in neighbouring Myanmar, where the quake was centred. Of the confirmed casualties in the Thai capital, eight died when a building under construction collapsed, while the ninth person died in a different location, said Bangkok's Deputy Governor Tavida Kamolvej. At least 144 people have been killed in Myanmar by the massive earthquake, the country's junta chief said, inviting 'any country, any organisation' to help with relief. The quake caused widespread destruction across the country and the death toll is expected to rise, ruler Min Aung Hlaing said in a speech aired on state media. He said he had opened routes for international assistance and had accepted offers of help from India and the Southeast Asian bloc ASEAN. In Taungoo, 15 amputee children who had been rushed out of a rehabilitation centre were still sheltering in the shade under bushes on Friday afternoon, unsure what to do next, writes The Telegraph's Sarah Newey from Bangkok. Doctors told The Telegraph they did not want to return into the four-story facility, which caters to children with disabilities and war injuries in the region. Completed in 2023, the building now has gaping cracks in the walls and lines growing across the ceiling. 'We asked them to wait and will check, waiting [for] some statement from experts whether it's safe or not,' the doctor, who asked not to be named, said. 'People everywhere are still so scared to enter their home.' He added that news of fatalities is mounting across Taungoo, a town roughly 130 miles from Myanmar's main commercial hub, Yangon. 'We heard around 15 people have already died - most were victims at the mosque, as today is Friday,' he said. 'We're waiting for the picture to get clearer.' At least 144 people in Myanmar have been killed and 732 injured by the earthquake, state-run MRTV said on the Telegram messaging app on Friday. In Mandalay, the earthquake reportedly brought down multiple buildings, including the Ma Soe Yane monastery, one of the largest in the city, and damaged the former royal palace. A video posted online showed robed monks in the street shooting video of the multistory monastery before it suddenly fell into the ground. It was not immediately clear whether anyone was harmed. The earthquake was felt in Yunnan and Sichuan provinces in China and caused damage to houses and injuries in the city of Ruili on the border with Myanmar, according to Chinese media reports. Videos that one outlet said it had received from a person in Ruili showed building debris littering a street and a person being wheeled in a stretcher toward an ambulance. The shaking in Mangshi, a Chinese city about 100 kilometres (60 miles) north-east of Ruili, was so strong that people couldn't stand, one resident told The Paper, an online media outlet. An air control tower at the Naypyidaw International Airport near the capital in Myanmar has collapsed. All five members of staff on duty in the tower reportedly died due to the collapse. The Thai defence ministry says that rescuers are searching for 81 people trapped in the rubble of a skyscraper that was under construction and collapsed into a pile of rubble. Bangkok Governor Chadchart Sittipunt said there had been three deaths at the building site. He warned of possible aftershocks but urged people to be calm and said the situation was largely under control. The WHO has triggered its emergency management system in response to Friday's 'huge' earthquake in Myanmar and is mobilising its logistics hub in Dubai to prepare trauma injury supplies. The World Health Organization is coordinating its earthquake response from its Geneva headquarters 'because we see this as a huge event' with 'clearly a very, very big threat to life and health', spokeswoman Margaret Harris told a media briefing. 'We've activated our logistics hub to look particularly for trauma supplies and things like external fixators because we expect that there will be many, many injuries that need to be dealt with,' Harris said. The earthquake 'could not have come at a worse time' for Myanmar, Amnesty International has warned, with a third of the country's population already in need of humanitarian assistance after four brutal years of civil war. 'At the same time, the impacts of US aid cuts on humanitarian services in the country are just starting to bite,' said Joe Freeman, Amnesty's Myanmar researcher. The US is one of the largest donors to Myanmar, spending roughly $200 million a year. A significant chunk of that looks set to be cut by the Trump administration. Mr Freeman added that all parties involved in the conflict 'should be prioritising the needs of civilians ... and ensuring that they have unfettered access to aid'. He said: 'Central Myanmar, which is believed to be the epicentre of the earthquake, has been ravaged by military air strikes and clashes between resistance groups and the military. 'Myanmar's military has a longstanding practice of denying aid to areas where groups who resist it are active. It must immediately allow unimpeded access to all humanitarian organisations and remove administrative barriers delaying needs assessments.' At least 20 people have died at a major hospital in Myanmar's capital, according to AFP. 'About 20 people died after they arrived at our hospital so far. Many people were injured,' said the doctor at the 1,000-bed general hospital in Naypyidaw, who requested anonymity. Human Rights Watch has urged Myanmar's military junta to grant humanitarian access. 'The Myanmar junta should immediately facilitate humanitarian access to areas affected by the earthquake,' said Bryony Lau, deputy Asia director at Human Rights Watch. 'The military has an appalling history of blocking aid following natural disasters, depriving people of assistance and increasing the suffering of communities affected.' A woman was killed in Mandalay because there were not enough doctors to treat her injuries, her daughter told The Telegraph. Thiri San rushed her mother to Mandalay's main hospital after bricks fell onto her head. 'When my mother arrived at the Mandalay General hospital, she was still alive,' she said. 'But there weren't enough doctors to treat her, and she lost too much blood from her head injury and passed away.' The 39-year-old said she was still waiting to receive treatment for her own injuries and that she was 'in pain inside out'. Her 89-year-old father said that this is the 'worst' earthquake he had 'ever seen'. This map shows how far the intensity of the quake could be felt. Blood is seen on the face of an earthquake survivor as she rests in a hospital in Naypyidaw, Myanmar. France said on Friday it stood ready to provide support, adding that its diplomatic premises in the Thai capital had been evacuated. 'We are ready to provide support as soon as the need has been expressed and we have evacuated our premises in Bangkok to guard against any form of risk,' said Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot, who was in Shanghai on Friday, referring to the French embassy, schools, and other buildings. At least 200 people have already arrived at the main hospital Mandalay, The Telegraph's Nandi Theint reports from the site. Dr Yan Naing told The Telegraph that 19 people have died so far due to the earthquake. 'There aren't enough doctors and space,' he said. 'Patients are scattered inside the hospital. So far, 19 people have died here due to the earthquake. Across Myanmar, I believe the death toll will be in the hundreds.' Patients are being evacuated from Rajavithi Hospital in Bangkok. Pictures show chaos at the hospital, with patients overflowing from the wards to outside. At least 90 people are missing at the site of a collapsed building in Bangkok, according to Thailand's defence minister. Defence Minister Phumtham Wechayachai provided no additional details on the rescue efforts, though first responders earlier reported rescuing seven people from the area outside the collapsed building. Workers caked in a thick white dust are outside the collapsed building in Bangkok, shocked at the scale of destruction and their close escape. Sompon, who has worked in construction for 16 years, works for one of the construction companies here, and had been on site for a month. When he first felt the tremors, he shouted to those around him to get out immediately. He struggled to describe how he's feeling now. 'It's indescribable. I'm speechless,' he told the Telegraph. 'Because all the dust is coming everywhere, we could see only dust. I run out as fast as I could, to be safe.' He added: 'This is the scariest experience I've ever had.' We've been providing live coverage of the earthquake in Myanmar and its aftermath in Thailand. A 7.7 magnitude tremor struck north-east of Mandalay at a depth of 10km just before 6.30am UK time. If you're just joining us, here is what we know so far: The US Geological Survey has estimated that thousands of deaths are likely. At least 10 worshippers are reported to have been killed in a mosque in Mandalay. More than 20 children are feared to be trapped in a destroyed school in the city of Taungoo. Three people have died in Bangkok, while around 90 are missing. Initial reports from Myanmar suggest the earthquake's impact could be disastrous, experts told The Telegraph. Dr Brian Baptie, a seismologist at the British Geological Survey, noted that the population live in buildings vulnerable to natural disasters, worsening the situation. 'When a large earthquake strikes an area with over a million people, many of whom live in vulnerable buildings, the consequences are often disastrous,' he said. 'From initial reports, that seems likely to be the case here.' Dr Baptie added that Myanmar is 'often exposed' to large earthquakes, having experienced 14 with a magnitude of six or higher in the past 100 years. This toll includes a magnitude 6.8 quake near Mandalay in 1956 and a 7.6 quake further north in 1946. Downed power lines are complicating rescue efforts in Myanmar. The Red Cross said that is it adding to challenges for their teams trying to reach Mandalay and Sagaing regions and southern Shan state. 'Initial reports from the ground suggest the earthquake has caused significant damage,' the Red Cross said. 'Information on humanitarian needs is still being gathered.' The death toll in Thailand has risen to three after a building collapsed in Bangkok. Chadchart Sittipunt, the city's governor, warned of possible aftershocks but urged people to be calm and said the situation was largely under control. Authorities had received 169 calls about damage to buildings in Bangkok, he said. Urban rail systems in Bangkok were temporarily closed but expected to resume services on Saturday. A large hospital in Myanmar's capital is treating hundreds of patients, according to officials on site. 'Hundreds of injured people are arriving... but the emergency building here also collapsed,' security officials at the hospital in Naypyidaw told AFP. Some have arrived in cars, others in pickups, and others carried on stretchers, their bodies bloody and covered in dust. People could be heard screaming while trapped in the debris of a 30 storey building block collapsed in Bangkok. Worapat Sukthai, deputy police chief of Bangkok's Bang Sue district, said the capital had 'never experienced' an earthquake like it before. 'I heard people calling for help, saying help me,' he told AFP. 'We estimate that hundreds of people are injured but we are still determining the number of casualties.' 'I fear many lives have been lost. We have never experienced an earthquake with such a devastating impact before.' A hospital in Myanmar has been described as a 'mass casualty area' by officials. Rows of injured people are being treated outside of the hospital in Naypyidaw, the capital of Myanmar. The hospital has 1,000 beds, the official added, describing people writhing in pain as relatives sought to comfort them. The emergency department was also severely damaged, with a car crushed beneath the heavy concrete of its collapsed entrance. 'Many injured people have been arriving, I haven't seen anything like this before,' a doctor at the hospital told AFP. 'We are trying to handle the situation. I'm so exhausted.' Myanmar's ruling junta has issued a rare request for international humanitarian aid. Junta leader Min Aung Hlaing visiting a hospital in Naypyidaw, where victims of the 7.7-magnitude quake were being treated, according to AFP. 'We want the international community to give humanitarian aid as soon as possible,' junta spokesman Zaw Min Tun told AFP at the hospital. Credit: X/@msuhcoff It is now being reported that a second earthquake hit Myanmar just minutes after the first. The agency said that 12 minutes after the 7.7 magnitude earthquake, another 6.4 magnitude one hit. The epicentre was 18km (11.1 miles) south of Sagaing. The US Geological Survey has issued a red alert for deaths and damage, estimating that thousands of deaths are likely. The agency warned that 'high casualties and extensive damage are probable, with the disaster likely widespread'. A state of emergency has been declared in Myanmar after the 7.7 magnitude earthquake. The country's national disaster management committee added that it had declared a state of emergency in the Sagaing region, Mandalay region, Magway region, northeastern Shan State, Naypyitaw Council Area, and Bago region. Bangkok emergency responders have reported two deaths inside a high-rise building that collapsed during the earthquake. They added that seven people had been rescued from the rubble. Iana, 40, a piano teacher from Russia in Bangkok on holiday, was in a nearby shopping centre when she heard the building collapse. 'It was in the Chatuchak area, I hear the sound - it's like a jet. 'The building was shaking, shaking, shaking. We went down to the first floor and then we saw all the smoke (from the collapsed building). She added: 'People were afraid. 50 people maybe, 60 people there. We go down on the first floor and we see smoke. We don't know what is it.' Iana, who goes home tomorrow, thought there might be aftershocks and wasn't sure where to go next. More than 20 children are reported trapped in a school in Myanmar after the building collapsed, according to reports. Charitable organisations are working to rescue them from the school in Taungoo, central Myanmar, the Yangon Times reported. People are sitting on the side of the streets with their pet cats and dogs - they're not sure if the high rise buildings they live inside are safe to go into. Boom, 23, a student who was working from home today, told The Telegraph she's still freaked out after the earthquake - mainly because she's concerned about aftershocks. She's sitting in the 37 degree heat on the side of a busy main road with her two cats in a cat bag - Fuku, a ginger and a white two month old kitten. 'It was scary….. It's my first time (in an earthquake) , I was really nervous and I wasn't sure what to do,' she said. She was on the 10th floor of a 23 floor apartment block. 'Then it started shaking more, there was a crack in the wall, so I grabbed my cat and sat under the table. 'Afterwards, I just went down the emergency ladder.' She added: 'No I don't feel safe. I think I will wait outside in case there's an aftershock. I'm waiting until someone like the government tells me it's safe.' It is thought that Mandalay airport has suspended flights after suffering significant damage. Videos shared online show dozens of panicked passengers fleeing the airport as alarm bells ring loudly. Thai prime minister, Paetongtarn Shinawatra, has interrupted an official visit to Phuket, an island to the country's south, to hold an 'urgent meeting'. Ms Paetongtarn was in Phuket for a meeting when the earthquake occurred. Local media reports say at least 10 people have been killed in Myanmar after an earthquake struck the Shwe Phone Shein Mosque in Mandalay. 'It collapsed while we were worshipping. About three mosques collapsed. There were people trapped, so at least 10 people have died now. The death toll could be higher,' a rescue worker told the Yangon Times. Myanmar was at the epicentre of the earthquake, which the US Geological Survey said was a shallow 10 kilometres (6.2 miles). In Mandalay, the country's second-largest city and close to the epicentre, the earthquake damaged part of the former royal palace and buildings, according to videos and photos released on social media. A 90-year-old bridge in the Sagaing region, south-west of Mandalay, collapsed, and several sections of the highway connecting Mandalay to Yangon were damaged. In Yangon, residents rushed out of their homes as the quake hit, though no injuries or fatalities were immediately reported. In the capital, Naypyitaw, the quake caused damage to religious shrines and some homes, with parts of the structures falling to the ground. Credit: Viral Press via Reuters Connect A 30-storey building under construction in Bangkok has collapsed, trapping 43 workers, according to local police and medics. The building was reduced to rubble and twisted metal in a matter of seconds, footage shared on social media shows. Worapat Sukthai, the deputy police chief of Bang Sue district, told local media: 'When I arrived to inspect the site, I heard people calling for help, saying 'help me.'' 'We estimate that hundreds of people are injured but we are still determining the number of casualties,' he added. A state of emergency has been declared in Bangkok after the earthquake, Thailand's prime minister said. Meanwhile, Thailand's stock exchange has suspended all trading activities after a powerful earthquake triggered evacuations in Bangkok. Footage posted on social media showed building collapses and water cascading out of rooftop pools in the Thai capital. The earthquake registered 7.7 on the Richter scale, with the epicentre in the city of Mandalay in neighbouring Myanmar. Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. 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