At Least 1,600 Dead in Massive 7.7 Earthquake
UPDATE: The death toll has now risen to 1,644, the country's military leadership says, while the number of injured has gone up to 3,408, with 139 missing.
ORIGINAL POST: The death toll from a powerful 7.7 magnitude earthquake in Myanmar continues to escalate with more than 1,000 dead as bodies continue to be pulled from the rubble.
The nation's second-largest city was decimated by the earthquake which sent skyscrapers tumbling to the ground in a terrifying video. In a statement from the nation's military-led government, the death toll stands at 1,002 people with another 2,376 injured and 30 others missing. The statement suggested the numbers could still rise, saying “detailed figures are still being collected.”
Following the initial earthquake, with an epicenter not far from Mandalay, a 6.4 aftershock sent more buildings toppling to the ground. In the midst of a prolonged civil war responsible for a humanitarian crisis, has made relief efforts challenging.
According to the BBC, more than 90 people are thought to be trapped in a collapsed apartment building in Mandalay. Nearly 1,600 houses were damaged in the earthquake, including a pre-school building in Kyaukse where he bodies of 12 students were recovered.
In Thailand, where the earthquake struck the greater Bangkok area, at least 10 people have died - nine of which died at the site of the collapsed high-rise under construction near the capital’s popular Chatuchak market. 78 people are still unaccounted for.
“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, who is from Myanmar, and five friends who worked at the site, told the Associated Press.
Related: Popular Rapper Dead at 39 After Freak Accident While Fleeing From Police