A strong 7.7-magnititude earthquake hit Southeast Asia on March 28, killing more than a thousand people in Myanmar and neighboring Thailand amid fears the casualty figures will continue to rise in both countries.
The death toll in Myanmar climbed to 1,002, the military government said on March 29. Fatalities have also been reported in neighboring Thailand, where the quake rattled buildings and brought down a skyscraper under construction in the capital Bangkok.
The Myanmar government has declared a state of emergency across six regions and the isolated country’s junta leader, General Min Aung Hlaing, made a rare request for international humanitarian aid.
He said on state television that he had opened routes for international assistance and invited "any country" to provide help and donations. Myanmar’s military government is locked in a fight with anti-junta insurgents, a situation that could hamper the rescue and relief operation.
A spokesman for the opposition National Unity Government said fighters from the anti-junta militias known as the People's Defense Forces would provide humanitarian help.
According to the US Geological Survey, the earthquake occurred around 1:30 p.m. local time at a depth of 10 kilometers near Mandalay, the second-largest city in Myanmar. It was followed 11 minutes later by a 6.4-magnitude aftershock.
The tremors left buildings, bridges, and roads wrecked in the epicenter, Mandalay, an ancient city of about 1.5 million people, residents and local media said.
Reuters cited an unnamed resident as saying that destruction stretched across the entire city, leaving it with no electricity and disrupted phone lines.
Thailand’s capital, Bangkok -- located more than 600 miles from the epicenter -- was declared a disaster zone after the quake sent high-rise buildings swaying. Authorities said at least 10 people have been found dead so far.
Rescuers were searching for at least 80 construction workers trapped under a unfinished 33-story building that has collapsed into rubble in Bangkok, according to Defense Minister Phumtham Wechayachai.
