Myanmar Earthquake: Death toll rises to 2,000, many victims rescued

Sweepers and sniffer dogs have been deployed at the collapsed building under construction in Bangkok, Thailand. Rescuers have pulled another body from the rubble, bringing the death toll from the building collapse to 12, with a total of 19 dead across Thailand and 75 still missing at the construction site.

Members of the China Search and Rescue Team and the Ramunion Rescue Team carry a pregnant woman alive at the earthquake site in Mandalay, Myanmar, March 31, 2025. Photo: Xinhua

Meanwhile, in central Myanmar, rescuers have rescued four people, including a pregnant woman and a baby girl, from collapsed buildings in the city of Mandalay, Xinhua news agency reported.

State broadcaster CCTV showed Chinese rescuers in red helmets carrying a survivor, wrapped in a metal insulation blanket, through broken concrete and twisted metal at an apartment building in Mandalay.

Vietnamese rescuers reach earthquake-affected areas in Myanmar

According to the People's Army Newspaper, on March 31, immediately after arriving in Naypyidaw, the Head of the Vietnamese Rescue Force had a quick meeting with representatives of the Fire Prevention and Fighting Department, Ministry of Home Affairs of Myanmar. Through the discussion, the two sides agreed on the professional skills, content, methods and ways to organize search and rescue at the scene.

Vietnamese rescue forces urgently search for victims trapped under the rubble in Myanmar. Photo: QĐND

After arriving at Yangon International Airport on the evening of March 30, the Vietnamese Rescue Force participating in supporting the earthquake relief in Myanmar traveled by car nearly 500 km to reach the capital Naypyidaw at 3:00 a.m. on March 31. The team quickly settled down, organized field reconnaissance forces, determined their determination and organized the search for victims. It is expected that the Vietnam People's Army team will be divided into 3 groups, coordinating with the Ministry of Public Security team to follow 3 search directions as quickly as possible.

The Army delegation is also ready to send 30 officers from the Military Medical Force to establish a small-scale treatment team, capable of performing first aid and emergency medical and surgical methods to serve the victims as well as the people in the area.

The delegation also presented 30 tons of dry food to the Myanmar representative to support the victims of the earthquake. Immediately after the exchange, the delegation moved to the search area, 25 km away.

Civil war in Myanmar, where the military junta took power in a 2021 coup, is complicating efforts to reach people injured and displaced by the Southeast Asian nation's biggest earthquake in a century.

“Access to all the victims is a problem… given the conflict situation. There are a lot of security issues to access some areas on the frontline in particular,” said Arnaud de Baecque, resident representative of the International Committee of the Red Cross in Myanmar.

Myanmar state media reported the death toll had risen to 2,065, with more than 3,900 injured and more than 270 missing, and the military government declared a week of national mourning from Monday.

The United Nations says it is urgently delivering aid to survivors in central Myanmar.

“Our teams in Mandalay are working together to scale up the humanitarian response despite experiencing trauma themselves,” said Noriko Takagi, the UN refugee agency’s representative in Myanmar.

Hoang Huy (according to CCTV, Xinhua, Reuters)

Source: https://www.congluan.vn/dong-dat-o-myanmar-so-nguoi-chet-len-toi-2000-nhieu-nan-nhan-duoc-cuu-song-post340913.html