Miracle rescues offer hope, days after deadly Myanmar earthquake

Hind Al Soulia - Riyadh - BANGKOK — Two survivors have been pulled from under the rubble of collapsed buildings in Myanmar, more than five days after the country was struck by a devastating 7.7 magnitude earthquake.

The miraculous rescues of the two men offer rare moments of hope in the Southeast Asian country, where the ruling military government has announced a temporary ceasefire in operations against armed opposition groups to aid recovery efforts.

One of the rescues came in the city of Mandalay, near the quake’s epicenter, where a 53-year-old man was saved by Myanmar fire officials and a Chinese rescue team on Wednesday, 125 hours after he became trapped in the debris of a toppled hotel.

Dramatic video shared on social media shows the man being carried on a stretcher as rescue workers surround him, applauding.

In a separate rescue in the nearby city of Sagaing, a 40-year-old man was pulled from the rubble on Wednesday and is “doing OK” at a local hospital, a local rescue worker said. Video obtained by CNN shows rescuers using special cameras to locate the man.

The quake killed more than 3,000 people and injured thousands more, according to the ruling junta. Experts have warned the true death toll is likely to be higher as hundreds remain missing and hopes of finding people alive is dwindling fast.

Humanitarian organizations are continuing to stress the need for urgent aid, especially to more remote areas of the country.

Even before the quake, four years of civil war had left millions without adequate shelter, and battered health and communication infrastructure.

It was unclear on Thursday whether the temporary ceasefire set to run until April 22 was holding.

Hospitals are struggling to cope with the overwhelming number of injured, as critical medical care is delivered from makeshift tents, the World Health Organization (WHO) has warned.

“In these tents, patients with fractures, wounds, and shock are being stabilized. They are functioning as mobile health clinics — delivering care where there are no longer walls,” said a WHO emergency team member on site in Mandalay.

Around 500 buildings have totally collapsed and 800 more are partially destroyed, according to Doctors Without Borders (MSF), raising challenges for rescue workers toiling among the rubble.

Junta chief Min Aung Hlaing was scheduled to address the disaster response at a meeting of regional leaders on Thursday in neighboring Thailand, where powerful tremors from the quake killed at least 22 people.

In Thailand’s capital, Bangkok, rescuers detected signs of life on Thursday at a site where dozens are feared trapped under the rubble following the collapse of an under-construction high-rise building that killed at least 15 people.

Bangkok Gov. Chadchart Sittipunt said workers digging through the rubble “shouted into a shaft” and heard a voice respond – raising hopes for families that have faced an agonizing wait for news of their loved ones.

“This signal suggests that someone is there, offering hope,” Chadchart said. “We are all moving forward with full effort. The operation to drill into the area continues.”

Nearly 20 million people – or one in every three in Myanmar – were already in need of humanitarian aid before the earthquake, according to a statement made by UN Secretary-General António Guterres on Thursday. He also announced the deployment of the United Nations’ emergency relief coordinator to the country and announced the special envoy on Myanmar will arrive in the coming days to reinforce the UN commitment to peace and humanitarian efforts.

With the monsoon season fast approaching, the United Nations has warned the crisis could escalate without immediate and sustained international support. — CNN