Myanmar military asks for international help after earthquake kills 144 people and injures hundreds more
Topic:Earthquakes
20m ago20 minutes agoFri 28 Mar 2025 at 5:56pm
A double-storey building is in ruins with rubble strewn at its base
The earthquake damaged buildings across central Myanmar. (AP Photo: Aung Shine Oo)
In short:
Myanmar's military chief has called for international help after an earthquake killed at least 144 pepole and injured several hundred more across the country.
The earthquake shook neighbouring countries including Thailand, where rescuers continue to work to search for dozens of people trapped under the rubble of a collapsed skyscraper in Bangkok.
What's next:
The World Health Organization, the US, France and India have all offered to help Myanmar.
Myanmar's isolated military junta has issued a rare plea for international help after an earthquake killed at least 144 people, with warnings the number would likely rise.
Friday's 7.7-magnitude quake shook the region, with neighbouring Thailand continuing rescue efforts after a 30-storey construction site collapsed, killing at least three people and trapping dozens of others under the rubble.
While the full extent of the catastrophe was still emerging, the leader of Myanmar's ruling military junta, Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, addressed the country in a televised address.
After confirming the number of dead, he said 732 others had been injured.
"In some places, some buildings collapsed," he said in the speech, after visiting a hospital in the capital Naypyidaw.
"I would like to invite any country, any organisation, or anyone in Myanmar to come and help. Thank you."
He urged massive relief efforts in the wake of the disaster and said he had "opened all ways for foreign aid".
A pink building sits lop-sided against another pink building as cars and bikes ride past it on a road
Sites of destruction were common across Mandalay. (Reuters)
The ruling military has also called for urgent supplies of blood to help treat the wounded.
US President Donald Trump said on Friday, local time, that he had spoken with officials in Myanmar and that his administration would be providing some form of assistance.
"We're going to be helping," he told reporters at the White House.
India, France and the European Union have also offered help, while the World Health Organization (WHO) said it was mobilising its logistics hub in Dubai to prepare trauma injury supplies.
A multi-storey building sits collapsed in the street as motorcycles and cars drive past it
Myanmar's second largest city, Mandalay, was closest to the earthquake's epicentre. (Reuters)
The country declared a state of emergency across the six worst-affected regions after the quake, which the WHO described as a "very, very big threat to life and health".
An official at the hospital visited by the junta chief described it as a "mass casualty area" with medics treating the wounded outside.
"I haven't seen (something) like this before. We are trying to handle the situation. I'm so exhausted now," a doctor told AFP.
A building is crumpled and partly covering a truck that is parked nearby
The earthquake left some buildings completely unrecognisable in Myanmar, with limited resources in the country to find those in need. (The Myanmar Military True News Information Team via AP)
A rescue worker from Amarapura, an ancient city and now a township of Mandalay, said the bodies of 30 people had been recovered from collapsed multi-story apartment blocks.
"I have never experienced anything like this before - our town looks like a collapsed city," he said, estimating that about a fifth of the buildings had been destroyed.
"We received calls for help from people from the inside, but we cannot help because we do not have enough man-power and machines to remove the debris, but we will not stop working".
Myanmar has been wracked by four years of civil war, that was sparked by the military seizing power from the democratically elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi in 2021.
The National Unity Government formed shortly after the coup and opposes military rule.
It said any aid needed to go through independent channels to ensure it reached people in need.
A road is deeply cracked as cars and motorcycles find a way to safely cross it
Key roads and bridges across Myanmar have been badly damaged by the earthquake. (AP Photo: Aung Shine Oo)
Thailand skyscraper search continues
Emergency services worked through the night trying to free people trapped under the rubble at the construction site in Bangkok.
Interior Minister Anutin Charnvirakul said eight dead bodies had been recovered and, with between 90 and 110 people still missing, the toll is expected to rise.
"We see several dead bodies under the rubble. We will take time to bring the bodies out to avoid any further collapses," he told reporters.
"I heard people calling for help, saying 'help me'," Worapat Sukthai, deputy police chief of Bang Sue district, told AFP.
Around 100 rescue workers searched for survivors overnight, illuminated by specially erected floodlights.
A mound of concrete rubble rises in the distance as dozens of rescue worker in high viz stand looking on at it
The search for those missing went through the night in Bangkok. (Reuters: Athit Perawongmetha)
Visiting the site, Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra said "every building" in Bangkok would need to be inspected for safety, though it was not immediately clear how that would be carried out.
An emergency zone was declared in Bangkok, where some metro and light rail services were suspended.
The quake was felt across the region, with China, Cambodia, Bangladesh and India all reporting tremors.
Pope Francis said he was "deeply saddened by the loss of life and widespread devastation" in a telegram published by the Vatican.
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Earthquakes are relatively common in Myanmar, where six strong quakes of 7.0 magnitude or more struck between 1930 and 1956 near the Sagaing Fault, which runs north to south through the centre of the country, according to the United States Geological Survey (USGS).
A powerful 6.8-magnitude earthquake in the ancient capital Bagan in central Myanmar killed three people in 2016, also toppling spires and crumbling temple walls at the tourist destination.
AFP/ABC
Posted20m ago20 minutes agoFri 28 Mar 2025 at 5:56pm
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