Myanmar earthquake death toll reaches 3,471

(MENAFN) The death toll from a devastating earthquake in Myanmar has reached 3,471, according to state media reports on Sunday, as search and rescue operations continue to uncover more victims.
The 7.7 magnitude quake, which struck on March 28, has also left 4,671 individuals injured and 214 unaccounted for as of Saturday.

Rescue teams, both local and international, have successfully saved approximately 653 individuals trapped beneath collapsed structures, while 682 bodies have been recovered from the wreckage.

Tom Fletcher, the UN's chief aid official, visited survivors in Mandalay, close to the quake's epicenter, and described the circumstances as "staggering." He called on the international community to "stand behind the people of Myanmar."

Aid organizations are concerned that the combination of unusual rainfall and extreme heat may lead to disease outbreaks, such as cholera, among survivors who are forced to camp outdoors.

"Families sleeping outside the ruins of their homes while bodies of loved ones are pulled from rubble. Real fear of more quakes," Fletcher shared in a post on X.

In the aftermath, the Yangon-Mandalay railway line and Mandalay International Airport have resumed after sustaining damage from the quake.

The earthquake caused damage to the Yangon-Mandalay railway line, affecting 60 embankments and 11 bridges, which resulted in some tracks becoming warped. Additionally, the death toll from the same earthquake has reached 24 in Thailand, where 77 people remain unaccounted for.

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