The Wall Street Journal, relying on junta sources, reported a death toll of 2,028 in Myanmar, while the opposition National Unity Government, comprised of remnants from the administration ousted in 2021, placed the estimate at 2,418 as of Monday. Chinese state media confirmed three Chinese nationals among the deceased.
Rescue teams freed four individuals, including a pregnant woman and a child, from collapsed structures in Mandalay, the central Myanmar city located near the epicenter of the 7.7-magnitude earthquake that struck on Friday, according to the Chinese news agency Xinhua.
Chinese rescue personnel transported one survivor, wrapped in a metallic thermal blanket, through mounds of shattered concrete and twisted metal at an apartment complex in Mandalay, as depicted in footage broadcast on the Chinese state channel CCTV. Aerial drone images revealed a massive multi-story building reduced to layers of concrete, though some golden temples remained standing.
The ongoing civil conflict in Myanmar, where a military junta took control in a 2021 coup, severely hampers efforts to reach those injured and displaced by the most powerful earthquake to hit the Southeast Asian nation in a century. Military aircraft from the junta's air force returned to bombing rebel-controlled villages in the northern region, areas already devastated by the earthquake. "Access to all victims is problematic... given the conflict situation. There are many security challenges in accessing certain areas beyond front lines in particular," Arnaud de Baecke, the local representative of the International Committee of the Red Cross in Myanmar, told Reuters.
A rebel faction reported that Myanmar's ruling military continues to conduct airstrikes on villages following the earthquake, prompting Singapore's foreign minister to call for an immediate ceasefire to facilitate humanitarian assistance.
In Bangkok, Thailand's capital, emergency teams recovered another body from the rubble of a skyscraper under construction that collapsed during the quake, bringing the building collapse death toll to 12, with a total of 19 fatalities across Thailand and 75 individuals still unaccounted for at the construction site.
Scanning technology and search dogs were deployed at the location, with Bangkok Deputy Governor Tavida Kamolvej stating that rescue teams are working urgently to access an area where signs of life were detected three days after the earthquake. She noted that survival chances diminish significantly after 72 hours, adding, "We must accelerate. We won't stop even after 72 hours."
The Israeli Defense Forces Spokesperson's Unit announced that a joint team of experts from the IDF and the Ministry of Defense landed Sunday morning in Bangkok following the earthquake. The team, comprising population and engineering officers from the Home Front Command's National Rescue Unit and coordinated by the International Cooperation Division, has begun establishing a situation assessment and transferring technological expertise to Thai authorities.
Myanmar state media reported the death toll has reached 2,065, with more than 3,900 injured and over 270 missing, announcing that the military government has declared a week-long mourning period beginning Monday.
