‘We need aid’: Myanmar quake rescuers overwhelmed as death toll surpasses 1,000

Nevin Al Sukari - Sana'a - Rescue workers attempt to free residents trapped under the rubble of the destroyed Sky Villa Condominium development in Mandalay today. — AFP pic

MANDALAY, March 29 — Exhausted, overwhelmed rescuers in Myanmar’s second-biggest city pleaded for help Saturday as they struggled to free hundreds of people trapped in buildings destroyed by a devastating earthquake.

Friday’s shallow 7.7-magnitude quake destroyed dozens of buildings in Mandalay, the country’s cultural capital and home to more than 1.7 million people.

In one street, a monastery’s clock tower lay collapsed on its side, its hands pointing to 12.55pm — just minutes after the time the quake struck.

Among the worst-hit buildings in the city is the Sky Villa Condominium development, where more than 90 people are feared to be trapped.

The building’s 12 storeys were reduced to six by the quake, the cracked pastel green walls of the upper floors perched on the crushed remains of the lower levels.

A woman’s body stuck out of the wreckage, her arm and hair hanging down.

Rescuers clambered over the ruins painstakingly removing pieces of rubble and wreckage by hand as they sought to open up passageways to those trapped inside.

Scattered around were the remains of people’s lives — a child’s plastic bunny toy, pieces of furniture and a picture of the New York skyline.

Some residents sheltered under the shade of nearby trees, where they had spent the night, a few possessions they had managed to salvage — blankets, motorbike helmets — alongside them.

Elsewhere, rescuers in flip-flops and minimal protective equipment picked by hand over the remains of buildings, shouting into the rubble in the hope of hearing the answering cry of a survivor.

“There are many victims in condo apartments. More than 100 were pulled out last night,” one rescue worker who requested anonymity told AFP.

This UGC photo taken and posted by Hla Myo Aung on Facebook on March 28, 2025 shows a vehicle stuck in a crack in the ground next to spilled watermelons and vegetables in Sagaing, following the earthquake. — AFP pic/Courtesy of Facebook user Hla Myo Aung

Carrying bodies by truck

Widespread power cuts have hampered rescue efforts, with emergency personnel relying on portable generators for power.

After more than 24 hours of desperate searching, many are exhausted and desperate for relief.

“We have been here since last night. We haven’t got any sleep. More help is needed here,” the rescue worker told AFP.

“We have enough manpower but we don’t have enough cars. We are transporting dead bodies using light trucks. About 10-20 bodies in one light truck.”

Myanmar is accustomed to regular earthquakes, bisected north to south by the active Sagaing Fault, but the violent fury of Friday’s quake was exceptional.

More than 1,000 deaths have been confirmed already, with nearly 2,400 injured, and with the scale of the disaster only beginning to emerge, the toll is likely to rise significantly.

“Yesterday, when the earthquake happened, I was in my home. It was quite scary,” Mandalay resident Ba Chit, 55, told AFP.

“My family members are safe, but other people were affected. I feel so sorry for them. I feel very sad to see this kind of situation.”

Myanmar’s ability to cope with the aftermath of the quake will be hampered by the effects of four years of civil war, which have ravaged the country’s healthcare and emergency systems.

In an indication of the potential enormity of the crisis, the junta has issued an exceptionally rare call for international aid.

Previous military rulers have spurned all foreign assistance even after major natural disasters.

“We need aid. We don’t have enough of anything,” resident Thar Aye, 68, told AFP.

“I feel so sad to see this tragic situation. I’ve never experienced anything like this before.” — AFP