Southeast Asia earthquake: More than 1,000 people dead

The number of people killed by the powerful 7.7-magnitude earthquake that rocked Myanmar and neighbouring Thailand has risen to over 1,000.

The country’s military-led government said in a statement that 1,002 people have now been found dead and another 2,376 injured, with 30 others missing. The statement suggested the numbers could still rise, saying “detailed figures are still being collected”.

In the capital Naypyidaw, crews worked on Saturday to repair damaged roads, while electricity, phone and internet services remained down for most of the city.

The midday tremor with an epicentre near Mandalay – Myanmar’s second-largest city – was followed by a strong 6.4 magnitude aftershock.

Myanmar’s junta chief Senior General Min Aung Hlaing warned the death toll and injuries are “expected to rise”.

In neighbouring Thailand, at least ten people have died in the capital city of Bangkok, where a high-rise under construction collapsed.

Myanmar is in the throes of a prolonged and bloody civil war, which is already responsible for a massive humanitarian crisis.

It makes movement around the country both difficult and dangerous, complicating relief efforts and raising fears that the number of people killed in the disaster could increase.

Myanmar’s government said blood was in high demand in the hardest-hit areas. In a country where previous governments sometimes have been slow to accept foreign aid, Min Aung Hlaing said Myanmar was ready to accept assistance.

On Saturday, more heavy equipment was brought in to move huge mounds of rubble, but hope was fading among friends and family members of the missing that they would be found alive.

“I was praying that that they had survived but when I got here and saw the ruin — where could they be? In which corner? Are they still alive? I am still praying that all six are alive,” 45-year-old Naruemol Thonglek told Associated Press, sobbing as she awaited news about her partner, who is from Myanmar, and five friends who worked at the site.

“I cannot accept this. When I see this I can’t accept this. A close friend of mine is in there, too,” she said.

How are other countries helping?

A 37-member team from the Chinese province of Yunnan reached the city of Yangon early on Saturday with earthquake detectors, drones and other supplies, the official Xinhua news agency reported, followed by another team of 82 people from Beijing.

Hong Kong has said it will send a rescue team while Taiwan’s National Fire Agency said a rescue team of 120 people was on standby for possible deployment.

Russia’s emergencies ministry dispatched two planes carrying 120 rescuers and supplies, according to a report from the Russian state news agency Tass.

India sent a search and rescue team and a medical team as well as provisions, while Malaysia’s foreign ministry said the country will send 50 people on Sunday to help identify and provide aid to the worst-hit areas.

The United Nations allocated $5 million (£3.9 million) to start relief efforts.

President Donald Trump said on Friday that the US was going to help with the response, but some experts were concerned about this effort given his administration’s deep cuts in foreign assistance.

The Trump administration’s cuts to the United States Agency for International Development have already forced the United Nations and non-governmental organisation to cut many programmes in Myanmar.