Smell of death permeates Myanmar cities after quake kills over 1,600 and leaves countless buried

MANDALAY, Myanmar (AP) — The smell of decaying bodies permeated the streets of Myanmar's second-largest city on Sunday as people worked frantically by hand to clear rubble in the hope of finding someone still alive, two days after a massive earthquake struck that killed more than 1,600 people and left countless others buried.

The 7.7 magnitude quake hit midday Friday with an epicenter near Mandalay, bringing down scores of buildings and damaging other infrastructure like the city’s airport.

Relief efforts have been hampered by buckled roads, downed bridges, spotty communications and the challenges of operating in a country in the midst of a civil war.

The search for survivors has been primarily conducted by the local residents without the aid of heavy equipment, moving rubble by hand and with shovels in 41-degree Celsius (106 Fahrenheit) heat, with only the occasional tracked excavator to be seen.

A 5.1 magnitude aftershock Sunday afternoon prompted screams from those in the streets, and then the work continued.

Many of Mandalay's 1.5 million people spent the night sleeping on the streets, either left homeless by the quake, which also shook neighboring Thailand and killed at least 18 people there, or worried that the continuing aftershocks might cause structures left unstable to collapse.

So far 1,644 people have been reported killed in Myanmar and 3,408 injured, but many areas have not yet been reached, and many rescue efforts so far have been undertaken by people working by hand to try and clear rubble, said Cara Bragg, the Yangon-based manager of Catholic Relief Services in Myanmar.

“It's mainly been local volunteers, local people who are just trying to find their loved ones,” Bragg said after bring briefed by her colleague in Mandalay.

“I've also seen reports that now some countries are sending search and rescue teams up to Mandalay to support the efforts, but hospitals are really struggling to cope with the influx of injured people, there's a shortage of medical supplies, and people are struggling to find food and clean water,” Bragg added.

The organization was sending a team by road on Sunday to assess peoples' most pressing needs so that it could target its own response.

With the Mandalay airport damaged and the control tower toppled in the capital Naypitaw's airport, all commercial flights into the cities have been shut down.

Official relief efforts in Naypitaw were prioritizing government offices and staff housing, leaving locals and aid groups to dig through the rubble by hand in residential areas, the hot sun beating down and the smell of death in the air.

A team sent from neighboring China rescued an older man who had been trapped for nearly 40 hours beneath the rubble of a Naypitaw hospital, and many others are believed to still be buried under, the official Xinhua news agency reported.

Myanmar sits on the Sagaing Fault, a major north-south fault that separates the India plate and the Sunda plate.

The earthquake occurred when a 200-kilometer (125-mile) section of the fault ruptured, causing widespread damage along a wide swath of territory down the middle of the country, including Sagaing, Mandalay, Magway and Bago regions and Shan State.

With widespread telecommunication outages, few details have come out so far from areas other than the main urban areas of Mandalay and Naypitaw.

Still, two Indian C-17 military transport aircraft were able to land late Saturday at Naypitaw with a field hospital unit and some 120 personnel who were then to travel north to Mandalay to establish a 60-bed emergency treatment center, according to the country's Foreign Ministry. Other Indian supplies were flown into Yangon, Myanmar's biggest city, which has been the hub of other foreign relief efforts.

On Sunday, a convoy of 17 Chinese cargo trucks carrying critical shelter and medical supplies was expected to reach Mandalay, after making the arduous journey by road from Yangon.

The 650-kilometer (400-mile) journey has been taking 14 hours or longer, with clogged roads and traffic diverted from the main highway to skirt damage from the earthquake.

At the same time, the window of opportunity to find anyone alive is rapidly closing. Most rescues occur within the first 24 hours after a disaster, and then survival chances drop as each day passes.

An initial report on earthquake relief efforts issued Saturday by the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs noted the severe damage or destruction of many health facilities, and warned that a “severe shortage of medical supplies is hampering response efforts, including trauma kits, blood bags, anesthetics, assistive devices, essential medicines, and tents for health workers.”

China said it has sent more than 135 rescue personnel and experts along with supplies like medical kits and generators and pledged around $13.8 million in emergency aid. Russia’s Emergencies Ministry said it had flown in 120 rescuers and supplies to Yangon, and the country’s Health Ministry said Moscow had sent a medical team to Myanmar.

Teams from Singapore have been working already in Naypitaw. Malaysia dispatched a team of 50 personnel on Sunday with trucks, search and rescue equipment and medical supplies. Thailand said 55 of its soldiers arrived in Yangon on Sunday to help with search and rescue operations, while Britain announced a $13 million aid package to help its locally-funded partners already in Myanmar respond to the crisis.

In neighboring Thailand, the quake rocked much of the country, bringing down a high-rise building under construction in Bangkok, some 1,300 kilometers (800 miles) away from the epicenter.

So far, 11 people have been found dead at the construction site near the popular Chatuchak market. A total of 18 people have been reported killed by the quake in Thailand so far.

In Myanmar, which is also known as Burma, rescue efforts so far are focused on Mandalay and Naypyitaw, which are thought to have been the hardest hit, but many other areas were also impacted and little is known so far about the damage there.

“We're hearing reports of hundreds of people trapped in different areas,” said Bragg. “Right now we're at 1,600 (known fatalities) and we don't have a lot of data coming out but you've got to assume it will be increasing in the thousands based on what the impacts are. This is just anecdotal information at this point.”

Beyond the earthquake damage, rescue efforts are complicated by the bloody civil war roiling much of the country, including in quake-affected areas. In 2021, the military seized power from the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi, sparking what has since turned into significant armed resistance.

Government forces have lost control of much of Myanmar, and many places are dangerous or impossible for aid groups to reach. More than 3 million people have been displaced by the fighting and nearly 20 million are in need, according to the United Nations.

The government military has been fighting long-established militias and newly formed pro-democracy People's Defense Forces, and has heavily restricted much-needed aid efforts to the large population already displaced by war even before the earthquake.

Military attacks continued with airstrikes on Friday and reports of mortar and drone attacks on Saturday.

Tom Andrews, a monitor on rights in Myanmar commissioned by the U.N.-backed Human Rights Council, called for the military to immediately call a ceasefire.

“Aid workers should not have to fear arrest and there should be no obstructions to aid getting to where it is most needed,” he said on X. “Every minute counts.”

Rising and Peck reported from Bangkok. Jintamas Saksornchai in Bangkok, Simina Mistreanu in Taipei, Taiwan and Eileen Ng in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia contributed to this report.

This story has been corrected to show that the military seized power in 2021, not 2001.

People stand near a damaged building in the aftermath of an earthquake, in Mandalay, central Myanmar, Sunday, March 30, 2025. (AP Photo/Thein Zaw)

A damaged building is seen in the aftermath of an earthquake, in Mandalay, central Myanmar, Sunday, March 30, 2025. (AP Photo/Thein Zaw)

Vehicles make their way past Maharmyatmuni pagoda in the aftermath of an earthquake, in Mandalay, central Myanmar, Sunday, March 30, 2025. (AP Photo/Thein Zaw)

A local man drives past Maharmyatmuni pagoda in the aftermath of an earthquake, in Mandalay, central Myanmar, Sunday, March 30, 2025. (AP Photo/Thein Zaw)

In this photo taken from video released by Russian Emergency Ministry Press Service on Sunday, March 30, 2025, Russian Emergency Ministry employees give their dogs water after they leave the board of planes with rescuers landed in Myanmar following Friday's earthquake, in Mandalay, Myanmar. (Russia Emergency Ministry press service via AP)

A local man drives a motorbike past a damaged building, in the aftermath of an earthquake, in Naypyitaw, Myanmar, Sunday, March 30, 2025. (AP Photo/Aung Shine Oo)

People ride their bicycles past damaged buildings in the aftermath of an earthquake in Naypyitaw, Myanmar, Sunday, March 30, 2025. (AP Photo/Aung Shine Oo)

Rescuers work at the site of the Sky Villa Condo that collapsed In Friday's earthquake in Mandalay, Myanmar, Sunday, March 30, 2025. (AP Photo/Thein Zaw)

People watch rescuers work at the Sky Villa Condo that collapsed In Friday's earthquake in Mandalay, Myanmar, Sunday, March 30, 2025. (AP Photo/Thein Zaw)

In this photo taken from video released by Russian Emergency Ministry Press Service on Sunday, March 30, 2025, Russian Emergency Ministry employees unload their vehicles from one of the planes with rescuers landed in Myanmar following Friday's earthquake, in Mandalay, Myanmar. (Russia Emergency Ministry press service via AP)

In this photo taken from video released by Russian Emergency Ministry Press Service on Sunday, March 30, 2025, Russian Emergency Ministry planes are parked in Myanmar airport, as they arrive to help the country following Friday's earthquake, in Mandalay, Myanmar. (Russia Emergency Ministry press service via AP)

Rescuers work with the help of heavy machinery at the Sky Villa Condo that collapsed In Friday's earthquake in Mandalay, Myanmar, Sunday, March 30, 2025. (AP Photo/Thein Zaw)

In this photo released by Xinhua News Agency, Chinese rescuers looks at a collapsed building before conducting a search and rescue operation in the aftermath of an earthquake in Mandalay, Myanmar, Sunday, March 30, 2025. (Myo Kyaw Soe/Xinhua via AP)

In this photo taken from video released by Russian Emergency Ministry Press Service on Sunday, March 30, 2025, Russian Emergency Ministry employees unload their vehicles from one of the planes with rescuers that landed in Myanmar following Friday's earthquake, in Mandalay, Myanmar. (Russia Emergency Ministry press service via AP)

A car covered by a collapsed building due to the earthquake in Naypyitaw, Myanmar, Sunday, March 30, 2025. (AP Photo/Aung Shine Oo)

In this photo released by Xinhua News Agency, rescuers prepare to conduct a search and rescue at a collapsed building in the aftermath of an earthquake in Mandalay, Myanmar, Sunday, March 30, 2025. (Myo Kyaw Soe/Xinhua via AP)

A local man drives a motorbike past damaged buildings in the aftermath of an earthquake in Naypyitaw, Myanmar, Sunday, March 30, 2025. (AP Photo/Aung Shine Oo)

Rescuers work at the Sky Villa Condo that collapsed In Friday's earthquake in Mandalay, Myanmar, Sunday, March 30, 2025. (AP Photo/Thein Zaw)

People watch as rescuers work at the site of an under-construction high-rise building that collapsed on Friday after an earthquake in Bangkok, Thailand, Sunday, March, 30, 2025. (AP Photo/Manish Swarup)

A volunteer drives an excavator to help rescue operations near Maharmyatmuni pagoda after an earthquake in Mandalay, central Myanmar, Sunday, March 30, 2025. (AP Photo/Thein Zaw)

A Buddhist monk walks near a collapsed pagoda after an earthquake in Mandalay, central Myanmar, Sunday, March 30, 2025. (AP Photo/Thein Zaw)

A Buddhist monk and a man walk past the Maharmyatmuni pagoda in the aftermath of an earthquake, in Mandalay, central Myanmar, Sunday, March 30, 2025. (AP Photo/Thein Zaw)

People walk past a damaged pagoda near Maharmyatmuni pagoda, in the aftermath of an earthquake in Mandalay, central Myanmar, Sunday, March 30, 2025. (AP Photo/Thein Zaw)

This handout photo provided by India's National Disaster Response Force shows a rescue team along with trained canines before boarding for Myanmar following Friday's earthquae, in New Delhi, India, Saturday, March 29, 2025. (National Disaster Response Force via AP)

Rescuers work to find survivors in a house that collapsed after an earthquake in Mandalay, Myanmar, Saturday, March 29, 2025. (AP Photo/Thein Zaw)

Rescuers work to find survivors in a house that collapsed after an earthquake in Mandalay, Myanmar, Saturday, March 29, 2025. (AP Photo/Thein Zaw)

In this photo released by Xinhua News Agency, rescuers conduct a search and rescue at a collapsed building in the aftermath of an earthquake in Mandalay, Myanmar, Sunday, March 30, 2025. (Myo Kyaw Soe/Xinhua via AP)

In this photo released by Xinhua News Agency, rescuers conduct a search and rescue at a collapsed building in the aftermath of an earthquake in Mandalay, Myanmar, Sunday, March 30, 2025. (Myo Kyaw Soe/Xinhua via AP)

In this photo released by Xinhua News Agency, workers load relief materials onto a chartered flight for support the earthquake in Myanmar, at the Kunming Changshui International Airport in Kunming, southwest China's Yunnan Province, Sunday, March 30, 2025. (Peng Yikai/Xinhua via AP)

Heavy machineries clear the debris as rescuers work at the site of an under-construction high-rise building that collapsed on Friday after an earthquake in Bangkok, Thailand, Sunday, March, 30, 2025. (AP Photo/Manish Swarup)

A woman cries as she waits for news as rescue work is underway at the site of an under construction high-rise building that collapsed after an earthquake in Bangkok, Thailand, Sunday, March 30, 2025. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit)

A Buddhist monastery building that has collapsed is seen following an earthquake in Naypyitaw, Myanmar Sunday, March 30, 2025. (AP Photo/Aung Shine Oo)

A person goes through rubble at a Buddhist monastery building that has collapsed following an earthquake in Naypyitaw, Myanmar Sunday, March 30, 2025. (AP Photo/Aung Shine Oo)

A woman cries as she waits for news as rescue work is underway at the site of an under construction high-rise building that collapsed after an earthquake in Bangkok, Thailand, Sunday, March 30, 2025. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit)

Rescuers use sniffer dog at work at the site of an under-construction high-rise building that collapsed on Friday after an earthquake in Bangkok, Thailand, Sunday, March 30, 2025. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit)

A woman cries as she waits for news as rescue work is underway at the site of an under construction high-rise building that collapsed after an earthquake in Bangkok, Thailand, Sunday, March 30, 2025. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit)

Rescuers work at the site of an under-construction high-rise building that collapsed on Friday after an earthquake in Bangkok, Thailand, Sunday, March 30, 2025. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit)

Relatives of victims wait as rescuers work at the site of a collapsed under construction high-rise building in Bangkok, Thailand, Sunday morning, March 30, 2025. (AP Photo/Wason Wanichakorn)

A person watches rescue work underway at the site of an under-construction high-rise building that collapsed on Friday after an earthquake in Bangkok, Thailand, Sunday, March 30, 2025. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit)

Rescuers use sniffer dog at work at the site of an under-construction high-rise building that collapsed on Friday after an earthquake in Bangkok, Thailand, Sunday, March 30, 2025. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit)

people watch rescue work underway at the site of an under-construction high-rise building that collapsed on Friday after an earthquake in Bangkok, Thailand, Sunday, March 30, 2025. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit)

Women cry as they wait for news as rescue work is underway at the site of an under construction high-rise building that collapsed after an earthquake in Bangkok, Thailand, Sunday, March 30, 2025. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit)

Rescuers works look for the survivors at the site of an under-construction high-rise building that collapsed on Friday after an earthquake in Bangkok, Thailand, Sunday, March 30, 2025. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit)

A Buddhist monastery building that has collapsed is seen following an earthquake in Naypyitaw, Myanmar Sunday, March 30, 2025. (AP Photo/Aung Shine Oo)

A Buddhist monastery building that has collapsed is seen following an earthquake in Naypyitaw, Myanmar Sunday, March 30, 2025. (AP Photo/Aung Shine Oo)

A Buddhist monastery building that has collapsed is seen following an earthquake in Naypyitaw, Myanmar Sunday, March 30, 2025. (AP Photo/Aung Shine Oo)

A Buddhist monastery building that has collapsed is seen following an earthquake in Naypyitaw, Myanmar Sunday, March 30, 2025. (AP Photo/Aung Shine Oo)

A person goes through rubble at a Buddhist monastery building that has collapsed following an earthquake in Naypyitaw, Myanmar Sunday, March 30, 2025. (AP Photo/Aung Shine Oo)

A woman reacts after being informed that her husband had died at the site of a collapsed under construction high-rise building in Bangkok, Thailand, Sunday, March 30, 2025. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit)

SAN ANTONIO (AP) — Pretty much every basketball fan has heard of Duke's Cooper Flagg. Nowhere near as many have heard of Houston's Joseph Tugler.

If the Cougars are going to spring an upset over the Blue Devils in the all-1-seed Final Four on Saturday, it will almost surely be because one of the country's best defenders, Tugler, played a big role in holding down the country's best overall player, Flagg.

“Take away his right hand, don't let him get into his spin move, make him earn his shot,” Tugler said, in ticking off Houston's version of a scouting report that is similar to what has been tried by Duke's 38 previous opponents, with minimal success.

And this: “I can guard anybody if I put my mind to it.”

Coach Kelvin Sampson has a gritty team full of players like that.

A team built around stifling defense might not put a ton of clips on the weekly highlight packages, the way Flagg and the Blue Devils (35-3) do.

But a better illustration of what makes Houston (34-4) click might come from a viral video that shows a loose-ball drill the team runs, usually early in the season or, as the coach said, whenever someone needs it.

It starts with a ball being pushed onto the court — or with a bricked free throw — and devolves into chaos, with players diving on the floor, jumping on each other trying to gain possession. Tackling, it appears from the video, is allowed.

Tugler suggested that the losing “team” has to run. Sampson was less concrete on the rules of the drill as its purpose.

“Everything is a competition,” the coach explained. “But like our kids say, it’s not for everybody. But it is for the ones that are here.”

Asked to analyze Flagg's game, Sampson — in his 36th year coaching and at his third Final Four and second with Houston — started mentioning players his teams have faced over the years: Carmelo Anthony, Gary Payton, Jason Kidd, Paul Pierce.

“This guy is right there with them,” the coach said. “It's hard to say what he's not good at.”

Flagg, the 18-year-old freshman who is averaging 18.9 points and 7.5 rebounds, picked up the AP player of the year award on Friday, along with the Oscar Robinson Award to add to his quickly filling trophy case.

He is virtually certain to be the top pick in the NBA draft later this spring.

Last weekend, Flagg played arguably the best game of his short college career — a 30-point, six-rebound, seven-assist masterpiece in a Sweet 16 win over Arizona. Two nights later, he was off target but still ended up with 16 points, nine rebounds and three assists in a 20-point win over Alabama.

Tugler's honors: Big 12 defensive player of the year and winner of the Lefty Driesell Award given by College Insider Inc. to the nation's best defensive player. Since joining the starting lineup in December, he's averaged 1.9 blocks a game.

Some other Houston stats say a lot. The Cougars are rated first in the KenPom defensive efficiency category. On offense, they are ranked 360th out of 364 teams in possessions per 40 minutes, a figure that plays into the defense because the long possessions shorten games and cause teams to expend energy defending them.

The Cougars lead the nation in field goal percentage allowed (38.2%) and points allowed (58.3).

Duke coach Jon Scheyer, who has seen Houston in a scrimmage two years ago and in a 54-51 Sweet 16 win last season — before Flagg arrived — says the numbers don't fully do it justice.

“They have good individual defenders,” Scheyer said. “But I think, by far, the best thing they do is how they have five guys always moving together.”

Tugler described it that way, too. Always helping. Always moving together. Great defenders might not get as much love as the guys jacking up 3s, but Tugler doesn't mind. He says Houston's version of the “3” comes when it stops a team on three straight possessions.

“We call that the ‘kill stop,’” Tugler said. “After we get that third one, we always feel like, ‘Let’s take this over.'"

Sampson reminisced about his first head-coaching job at Montana Tech. He left Jud Heathcoate's staff at Michigan State and went 7-20 without winning a conference game in his first season.

“Jud calls up and said, ‘Hey, Kel, I just want to congratulate you. You’re the only coach ... that possibly could have taken Montana Tech from obscurity to oblivion,'” Sampson said.

Scheyer was surprised to learn that Flagg's mom, Kelly, has entered a pact with other team moms to get tattoos to commemorate a Duke national title if there is one. Will the coach participate?

“I’m making my wife get a tattoo with them if that’s what’s going to happen," Scheyer said. “I would even consider getting one if we win.”

AP March Madness bracket: https://apnews.com/hub/ncaa-mens-bracket and coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/march-madness. Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here.

Duke forward Cooper Flagg watches during practice at the Final Four of the NCAA college basketball tournament, Friday, April 4, 2025, in San Antonio. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson)

Duke forward Cooper Flagg shoots during practice at the Final Four of the NCAA college basketball tournament, Friday, April 4, 2025, in San Antonio. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)

Houston forward Joseph Tugler shoots during practice at the Final Four of the NCAA college basketball tournament, Friday, April 4, 2025, in San Antonio. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson )

Houston head coach Kelvin Sampson speaks during media day at the Final Four of the NCAA college basketball tournament, Thursday, April 3, 2025, in San Antonio. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson )

Duke head coach Jon Scheyer watches during practice at the Final Four of the NCAA college basketball tournament, Friday, April 4, 2025, in San Antonio. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson)

Duke forward Cooper Flagg shoots during practice at the Final Four of the NCAA college basketball tournament, Friday, April 4, 2025, in San Antonio. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson)