A powerful 7.9-magnitude earthquake struck central Myanmar on Friday, killing at least 144 people and injuring more than 700 others while causing significant damage to buildings and roads in the capital, Nay Pyi Taw.
The earthquake, which struck at around 12:50 local time, caused widespread devastation across the country, with reports of collapsed buildings and damaged infrastructure.
Footage from the capital, Nay Pyi Taw, showed damaged buildings, shattered windows, collapsed one-story structures, and ruptured roads, with many residents evacuated to the roadside.
According to preliminary reports, most of the fatalities occurred in Mandalay and Nay Pyi Taw, with the government urging citizens to donate blood and provide assistance to the injured.
The earthquake struck at a depth of 30 kilometers, with the epicenter recorded at 21.85 degrees north latitude and 95.95 degrees east longitude, according to the China Earthquake Networks Center. Myanmar's largest city, Yangon, also experienced strong tremors from the quake.
Shortly after the initial earthquake, a 6.4-magnitude aftershock struck the same region. Mandalay, Myanmar's second-largest city, was particularly hard hit, with buildings collapsing or tilting, trapping residents and causing casualties. Several roads connecting Mandalay to Yangon were damaged and impassable.
Buildings in Nay Pyi Taw were also severely damaged, and strong tremors were felt in neighboring countries, including Thailand and Laos.
The Myanmar State Administration Council announced that several regions, including Sagaing, Mandalay, Magway, northeastern Shan State, Nay Pyi Taw, and Bago, have been placed under a state of emergency pursuant to the country's Natural Disaster Management Law.
The earthquake also had a noticeable impact in southwest China's Yunnan Province, where tremors were felt in Ruili City in the Dehong Dai and Jingpo Autonomous Prefecture, as well as in Pu'er, Lincang, and Baoshan.
Earthquake damages buildings, roads in Myanmar capital
The China Search and Rescue Team had pulled out four survivors - three adult females and a girl - after 13 hours of hard work in Myanmar's seriously-hit Mandalay City as of 07:15 local time on Monday.
Following the devastating earthquake in Myanmar, multiple Chinese rescue teams have arrived in the disaster-stricken areas, working with local responders around the clock to search for survivors.
Arrived in Mandalay on Sunday evening, the China Search and Rescue Team employed rescue dogs to locate a trapped survivor at the Great Wall Hotel quake site and attempted to searched for the survivor inside the damaged buildings.
Facing the challenge of a collapsed lower floor in the building where the survivor were trapped, the rescue team explored various strategies before deciding to breach from below the survivor's location, clearing the debris to create an exit and carry the survivor out with a stretcher.
At 00:40 local time on Monday, the survivor, an adult female trapped for nearly 60 hours, was rescued after over five hours of relentless work, marking the first survivor rescued by the team in the city.
Without pausing for rest, the rescuers immediately moved to another nearby site at the Sky Villa apartment complex where a girl informed the team of her 29-year-old elder sister trapping in the rubble. Following the girl's guidance, the rescuers located her elder sister, who was conscious and able to communicate.
As the rescuers worked to provide the girl with food and water and strategize the rescue, aftershocks continued to shake the area.
"The building shook noticeably and then we got out," said a team member.
The team soon returned to the rubble for rescue when the aftershock subsided.
"The lives are waiting for us and we can't give up on a single sign of life," said Han Wendong, the deputy team leader.
According to the girl, she was trapped under the rubble with her elder sister in the earthquake. Being smaller, she managed to find a narrow passage to crawl out. The rescuers found the passage and tried to reach her elder sister.
"She was saying 'hurry up' and 'help.' Her younger sister was encouraging her. It's her third day trapped here today and she's been crying. After the doctor gave her some good life support, she calmed down," said Han.
At 07:15 local time on Monday, the elder sister was freed from the rubble after the team further widened the rescue passage.
The Chinese medical team immediately gave her IV fluids and wrapped her in a thermal blanket before transferring her to a stretcher.
"It took three hours to get her out, instead of two as we expected. We kept working at night till getting her out at dawn. She's only got a cut on one leg and her vital signs are very good and stable. I hope our team will continue to do more to found and save lives," said Han.
Another two survivors were rescued by the China Search and Rescue Team in Mandalay at 05:37 and 06:20 local time on Monday, respectively.
The rescued have all been sent to the hospital for treatment.
A total of 91 personnel from five civilian emergency response forces organized by China's Ministry of Emergency Management have arrived in Myanmar, and been participating in rescue operations.
Besides, a rescue team from China's Yunnan Province rescued an elderly man who had been trapped for nearly 40 hours under the rubble of a hospital in Nay Pyi Taw on Sunday. Also on Sunday, members of the Blue Sky Rescue Team from Hunan Province successfully rescued a survivor at the Mandalay Buddhist Hall in Mandalay.
The death toll from Friday's 7.9-magnitude earthquake in Myanmar has risen to 2,056, with approximately 3,900 people injured and nearly 270 reported missing, according to the country's State Administration Council Information Team on Monday.
Chinese rescuers pull 4 survivors from rubble in Mandalay on Monday morning
