Death toll from Myanmar earthquake passes 1,600

The death toll in Myanmar’s earthquake has passed 1,600, with 3,408 people injured and at least 139 missing, according to the ruling junta.?

The isolated military junta chief, Min Aung Hlaing, had ordered a prompt rescue effort in affected regions.

Friday’s magnitude-7.7 quake shook the region, with neighbouring Thailand continuing rescue efforts after a 30-storey construction site collapsed, killing at least three people and trapping dozens of others under the rubble.

Mr Hlaing said the main earthquake was followed by three aftershocks, according to the state-owned New Light of Myanmar.

“The number of casualties is expected to rise further,” he said in an address to the nation, “In some areas, buildings have collapsed, and we are still carrying out rescue operations in those locations.

“I have declared a state of emergency in all affected areas and have opened all possible channels to receive international assistance.

“Infrastructure such as roads, bridges, and buildings were affected, leading to casualties and injuries among civilians. Search and rescue operations are currently being carried out in the affected areas.”

The United States Geological Service’s (USGS) predictive modelling estimated the death toll could exceed 10,000 people in Myanmar and that losses could be greater than the value of the country’s gross domestic product.

Susan Hough, a scientist in the USGS’s Earthquake Hazards Program, told Reuters it was difficult to predict an earthquake’s death toll for various reasons, including timing.

When an earthquake strikes during the daytime, as it did in Myanmar, “people are awake, they have their wits about them, they are better able to respond,” she said.

It was the biggest quake to hit Myanmar in over a century, according to US geologists, and the tremors were powerful enough to severely damage buildings across Bangkok, which is 1,000 kilometres from the epicentre.

A rescue mission was stepped up on Saturday to find construction workers trapped under the rubble of a collapsed 33-storey tower in the Thai capital.

Bangkok governor Chadchart Sittipunt said around 10 people had been confirmed killed across the city, most in the skyscraper collapse, and up to 100 workers were still missing at the building. (Reuters/AFP)