The death toll from a devastating earthquake in Myanmar continued to rise on Monday — crossing the 2000 mark as rescue operations continued in overdrive. The ongoing civil war in the country has complicated relief efforts — exacerbated by power outages, fuel shortages and spotty communications. Neighbouring Thailand has so far reported 19 deaths while hundreds remain missing in both countries.
According to an update shared by AP, around two hundred Buddhist monks had been crushed as the collapsed U Hla Thein monastery in Mandalay collapsed. Rescuers are still searching for around 150 of the dead monks.
The Indian Ministry of External Affairs indicated on Monday that an NDRF team was leading rescue operations at the monastery under Operation Brahma. Indian authorities will also provide relief material (slated to arrive on Tuesday) to around 2,000 monks who have been sitting outside the monastery. The monks are not injured, but they have nowhere to go and have no basic amenities.
Meanwhile an official with the Spring Revolution Myanmar Muslim Network indicated that approximately 700 Muslim worshippers had been killed while attending Friday prayers as several mosques collapsed. Visuals shared online by the The Irrawaddy also showed several of the structures toppling amid the tremors.
Another horrifying update indicated that around fifty children and two teachers had been killed when a preschool classroom crumbled.
Data from the UN indicates that more than 10,000 buildings had collapsed or suffered severe damage as a 7.7 magnitude quake hit on Friday afternoon with its epicenter near the city of Mandalay. This was followed within minutes by a second tremor with a magnitude of 7 on the Richter scale.
The World Health Organisation said it has reports of three hospitals destroyed and 22 partially damaged in the region. It also flagged an urgent need for “trauma and surgical care, blood transfusion supplies, anesthetics, essential medicines and mental health support”.
Myanmar state MRTV reported that the leader of the military government, Senior Gen. Min Aung Hlaing, told Pakistan’s prime minister during a call that 2,065 people were killed, with more than 3,900 injured and about 270 missing. Relief agencies expect those numbers to rise sharply, since access is slow to remote areas where communications are down.
(With inputs from agencies)