More than 1,600 people have died following a devastating earthquake in Myanmar, with survivors in some areas resorting to digging through the rubble with their bare hands in search of those trapped.
The disaster has reduced much of Mandalay, the country’s second-largest city and home to 1.5 million people, to ruins. Efforts to locate survivors have been severely hampered by a lack of equipment, damaged roads, and disrupted communication networks.
Myanmar’s military government, which seized power in 2021, has struggled to maintain control amid an ongoing civil war. Despite rescue efforts being underway since Friday and international aid beginning to trickle in, the hardest-hit areas remain largely cut off, forcing civilians to take on rescue efforts themselves.
Eyewitnesses described harrowing scenes of people screaming for help from beneath the debris. In one case, a woman was pulled alive from the wreckage of a 12-story building in Mandalay after being trapped for 30 hours, but the Red Cross estimates that more than 90 people may still be buried in the rubble.
Authorities in a nearby township discovered the bodies of 12 preschool children and a teacher beneath a collapsed kindergarten. Elsewhere, desperate rescue workers have been listening for sounds of life. “We can only rescue people when we hear them,” one rescuer told the BBC.
A lack of proper rescue equipment has slowed operations, with workers making do with whatever tools they have. A volunteer in Mandalay described the difficulties in coordinating efforts, saying, “There is no internet, no phone lines. The rescue team has arrived, but we don’t know where to send them because communication is down.”
Hospitals remain overwhelmed, and medical supplies, including trauma kits, blood bags, and anaesthetics, are in short supply. The United Nations humanitarian agency OCHA has reported severe transport disruptions, with major highways between Yangon, Nay Pyi Taw, and Mandalay suffering significant damage.
Adding to the crisis, power outages have plunged many areas into darkness, with officials warning that restoring electricity could take days. Mandalay Airport remains inoperative due to runway damage, further complicating relief efforts.
Near Mandalay, in Sagaing, the older of two bridges connecting the regions has collapsed completely, while the newer one has developed dangerous cracks, cutting off access for rescue teams. A local resident described the chaos: “There are not enough people for emergency rescue. Bodies are trapped under rubble, and we don’t even know where to take them—hospitals are overwhelmed.”
Despite the catastrophe, Myanmar’s military junta has continued airstrikes and drone attacks against rebel groups. Less than three hours after the earthquake struck, an airstrike in Naungcho, northern Shan State, killed at least seven people. Similar attacks have been reported in Chang-U, central Sagaing, and near the Thai border.
UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights in Myanmar, Tom Andrews, condemned the ongoing military actions, urging the junta to halt its offensives. “This is completely outrageous and unacceptable,” he said.
Even as international aid organizations respond to Myanmar’s rare appeal for assistance, survivors in the worst-affected areas remain in desperate need of food, medical supplies, and shelter.
