Myanmar toll inches towards 3K; India sends addl 440-tonne relief

Aid groups in Myanmar on Tuesday described scenes of devastation and desperation after an earthquake that killed more than 2,700 people, stressing an urgent need for food, water and shelter and warning the window to find survivors was fast closing.

Advertisement

Myanmar’s military ruler Min Aung Hlaing in a televised address said the death toll from Friday’s 7.7 magnitude quake was expected to surpass 3,000, having reached 2,719 on Tuesday, with 4,521 people injured, and 441 missing.

The quake, which struck at lunchtime on Friday, was the strongest to hit the Southeast Asian country in more than a century, toppling ancient pagodas and modern buildings alike. It inflicted significant damage on Myanmar’s second city Mandalay and Naypyidaw, the capital the previous junta purpose-built to be an impregnable fortress.

The death toll rose to 21 in neighbouring Thailand, where the quake caused damage to hundreds of buildings. In Myanmar, UN agencies said hospitals were overwhelmed and rescue efforts hindered by infrastructure damage and the country’s civil war. Rebels accused the military of conducting airstrikes even after the quake and on Tuesday a rebel alliance declared a unilateral ceasefire to help relief efforts.

Meanwhile, India has sent an additional 440 tonnes of relief material, including rice, edible oils and medicines, to earthquake-hit Myanmar. An Indian Navy ship INS Gharial that is designed to carry tanks, vehicles and troops to battle, was despatched on Tuesday from Vishakhapatnam for Yangon Myanmar.

440 tones would translate into a load that would need almost 45-48 trucks to carry.

Earlier on Tuesday morning two naval warships the INS Karmuk and LCU 52 reached Yangon. The ships were carrying some 30 tonnes of material. Also on Tuesday, another Indian Air Force C130 landed in Mandalay with relief material like medicines, water and diesel generators.