Earthquake death toll exceeds 3,500
The death toll from the powerful earthquake that struck Myanmar on March 28 has risen to 3,514 with 4,809 injured as of Sunday evening, the junta’s state media announced. The number is expected to rise. The hardest hit area is Mandalay, with the regime’s nerve center Naypyitaw ranking second and Sagaing third.
10 more bodies found at ‘earthquake-proof’ Mandalay high-riser
The bodies of nine women and a child were recovered on Monday from the Sky Villa high-rise condominium in Mandalay city, which collapsed after the 7.7-magnitude earthquake struck central Myanmar on March 28.
That brings the total of people confirmed dead at Sky Villa to 63, according to the Myanmar Fire Services Department, which continues search operations together with a rescue team from China. Rescue operations at the condominium have attracted public attention partly because it had hundreds of occupants and was marketed as having earthquake-resistant foundations.
Junta paramotor attack kills 3 in quake zone, breaching ceasefire
Three civilians in their 50s and 60s were killed and two women wounded when a junta paraglider dropped two bombs on Thonepanhla village in Sagaing Region’s Chaung-U Township around 11.30 pm on Sunday, according to locals. The attack in the earthquake disaster zone occurred despite a regime ceasefire declared until April 22 to facilitate relief and recovery efforts.
Junta airstrike kills three-month-old baby in Karen State
A 3-month-old baby and 10-year-old child were killed when a regime warplane dropped three bombs on Nae Ka village in Papun Township, Karen State on April 2, according to the Karen National Union on Monday. The airstrike also wounded two other civilians and destroyed homes in the village, the ethnic revolutionary group said.
320 displaced people going hungry after quake wrecks Shan monastery
Hundreds of internally displaced people (IDPs) urgently need food and shelter after their temporary sanctuary at a Buddhist monastery in Heyaywama village, Yawnghwe Township, Shan State was wrecked in the March 28 earthquake. The monastery was sheltering 320 people from Pekon town and Karenni State, according to Pa-O Youth Organization (PYO). Junta authorities instructed them to return to their homes last month amid fighting between regime troops and the Pa-O National Army some 16 km south of Heyaywama, the PYO said.
Junta boss belatedly visits quake-hit Sagaing
Myanmar junta boss Min Aung Hlaing belatedly visited Sagaing on Sunday to inspect the damage 10 days after the March 28 quake devastated the town known for its many Buddhist religious sites.
Located right across the Irrawaddy River from Mandalay, Sagaing was at the epicenter of the 7.7 magnitude quake and the third-hardest hit city with an official death toll of 467 as of April 3.
Hundreds in urgent need of aid in quake-hit Mandalay town
The powerful earthquake that struck Myanmar on March 28 resulted in the deaths of at least 13 residents and severe injuries to 10 others in Thedaw town, Wundwin Township, Mandalay Region, according to residents. With many houses and buildings in the town damaged and some having collapsed, over 700 people are now in urgent need of humanitarian assistance and are facing shortages of food and other necessities.
Junta boss thanks foreign quake rescue teams in Mandalay
Myanmar junta chief Min Aung Hlaing on Sunday thanked rescue teams from Belarus, China, India, Malaysia and Russia, who have been in Myanmar’s second-largest city Mandalay to respond to the massive earthquake that hit central Myanmar on March 28. So far, the quake has killed 3,514 people and caused widespread damage in Mandalay, Sagaing and the country’s capital Naypyitaw. The junta said emergency teams from 26 countries are working alongside relief groups from Myanmar.
Houses burn as junta shells village in Magwe near World Heritage Site
Myanmar junta forces indiscriminately shelled a village near Myitche town in Pakokku Township, Magwe Region on Saturday night, setting fire to approximately 17 houses and forcing residents to flee, according to local media reports.
Regime forces based in Myitche shelled Nyaung Hla Village on the western bank of the Irrawaddy River, which is directly across the river from Nyaung U town in Mandalay Region—home to the historic, UNESCO-listed Bagan archaeological zone.
Despite a declared ceasefire following the recent earthquake disaster, regime forces have continued aerial bombings, shelling and ground offensives across the country. Its truce is supposed to be in effect until April 22.
