Myanmar earthquake: More than 1,600 killed and 3,408 injured, as footage shows building’s collapse
The number of people killed in Myanmar following a powerful earthquake has risen to 1,644, with 3,408 others injured, according to local reports.
A further 139 people are also reportedly missing across the country.
It comes as dramatic footage shows the moment a building several stories high collapsed into rubble in the city of Mandalay – near to the earthquake’s epicentre.
The 7.7 magnitude earthquake caused extensive damage to buildings and roads. Pic: Reuters
Survivors in the city dug with their bare hands in a desperate attempt to find trapped people.
It struck at around 12.50pm local time (6.20am UK time) on Friday at a shallow depth of six miles (9.6km).
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Rescuers look for survivors of Myanmar earthquake
The quake’s epicentre was about 10 miles from Mandalay.
There were also aftershocks, with one measuring a strong 6.4 magnitude 12 minutes later.
A rescue worker at the site of a collapsed building in Bangkok. Pic: Reuters
King Charles sent a message of condolence.
“I know that the people of Myanmar continue to endure so much hardship and tragedy in your lives, and I have long admired your extraordinary resilience and spirit,” he said in a statement.
“At this most difficult and heartbreaking of times, my wife and I send our deepest possible sympathy to all those who have suffered the profound tragedy of losing their loved ones, their homes and their precious livelihoods.”
The UK government has announced a package of £10m to support the people of Myanmar in the aftermath of the quake.
The first major disaster to suffer the brunt of Trump’s aid cuts
This will be the first natural disaster to happen after President Donald Trump shut down America’s international aid agency with potentially devastating consequences.
The impact in the aftermath of this earthquake is likely to be severe. Trump’s decision to shut down the US Agency for International Development was already reported to have decimated US aid operations in Myanmar. Its global impact is hard to overstate. American aid had provided 40% of developmental aid worldwide.
Yesterday, Trump promised Myanmar aid for the earthquake. In reality, his administration has fired most of the people most experienced at organising that help and shut down the means to provide it.
The last of its staff were ironically only let go yesterday, even as the president was making lofty promises to help.
The US State Department says it has maintained a team of experts in the country. But former USAID officials say the system is now ‘in shambles’ without the wherewithal to conduct search and rescue or transfer aid.
China‘s President Xi Jinping also sent his condolences to Myanmar’s leader Min Aung Hlaing after the earthquake, and, according to the Chinese embassy in Myanmar, they have spoken on the phone.
A Chinese rescue team arrived in Yangon, Myanmar’s former capital, early on Saturday, while Russia and the US have also offered to provide humanitarian assistance and relief.
Twelve Chinese nationals are among the injured, according to Chinese state media.
Damaged Buddhist temples. Pic: AP Photo/Aung Shine Oo
Neighbouring Thailand was also affected by the quake, leaving at least seven people dead, eight injured, and 47 missing.
Buildings in five of Myanmar‘s cities and towns collapsed, along with a railway bridge and a road bridge on the Yangon-Mandalay Expressway, state media reported. A dam also burst.
The control tower at Nay Pyi Taw airport, which serves the capital Naypyidaw, collapsed, meaning runways cannot be used.
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Swimming pool shakes as earthquake hits
Recalling the moment they left their home in Mandalay, one resident said they “ran out of the house as everything started shaking”.
They said they “witnessed a five-storey building collapse in front of [their] eyes”, adding, “everyone in my town is out on the road and no one dares to go back inside buildings”.
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What made the earthquake so powerful?
The natural disaster – the largest earthquake in this region in nearly 80 years – comes as the country is in the grip of a civil war.
Search efforts continued on Saturday morning in Bangkok as the city’s governor, Chadchart Sittipunt, said people were believed to be alive in the wreckage at three construction sites, including one where a partially built high-rise collapsed.
A satellite photo shows a collapsed air traffic control tower at the Naypyitaw International Airport. Pic: Planet Labs PBC via AP
Most of the city’s metro and light rail resumed normal operation on Saturday morning, according to their operators.
Major General Zaw Min Tun, a spokesperson for the military government, told MRTV that blood was in high demand in earthquake-hit areas, as he urged donors to contact hospitals as soon as possible.
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Sky reports from site of collapsed building
United Nations spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said UN staff were working to gather information on the number of people impacted by the earthquake and the scope of the humanitarian needs.
Read more:
Bangkok felt like a city caught off guard
Eyewitnesses describe earthquake hitting Myanmar and Bangkok
The earthquake struck Myanmar and Thailand, and tremors also affected Laos, Vietnam, and Bangladesh
The ruling military junta said a state of emergency has been declared in Sagaing Region, Mandalay Region, Magway Region and northeastern Shan State, Nay Pyi Taw Council Area, and Bago Region.
“The government has ordered a rapid investigation of the damage in these areas,” the junta added in a statement.
“We will carry out relief and relief operations promptly. We will also work to provide necessary disaster relief and humanitarian assistance.”
The Red Cross has said its attempts to reach Mandalay and Sagaing regions and the southern Shan state are made more challenging by downed power lines.
Buddhist monks walk past a collapsed building in Naypyitaw, Myanmar. Pic: AP Photo/Aung Shine Oo
China will provide 100 million yuan (£10.63m) worth of aid to Myanmar, including tents, blankets, emergency medical kits, food and water.
The first batch is set to arrive on 31 March, according to the Chinese embassy’s Facebook page.
World
Trump criticises Putin after potentially ‘historic’ meeting with Zelenskyy before Pope’s funeral
Donald Trump has criticised Vladimir Putin and suggested a shift in his stance towards the Russian president after a meeting with Volodymyr Zelenskyy before the Pope’s funeral.
The Ukrainian president said the one-on-one talks could prove to be “historic” after pictures showed him sitting opposite Mr Trump, around two feet apart, in the large marble hall inside St Peter’s Basilica.
The US president said he doubted his Russian counterpart’s willingness to end the war after leaving Rome after the funeral of Pope Francis at the Vatican.
Follow live updates: 200,000 mourn at Vatican
In a post on his Truth Social platform, he said “there was no reason” for the Russian president “to be shooting missiles into civilian areas, cities and towns, over the last few days”.
The two leaders held talks before attending the Pope’s funeral
He added: “It makes me think that maybe he doesn’t want to stop the war, he’s just tapping me along, and has to be dealt with differently, through ‘Banking’ or ‘Secondary Sanctions?’ Too many people are dying!!!”
The meeting between the US and Ukrainian leaders was their first face-to-face encounter since a very public row in the Oval Office in February.
Mr Zelenskyy said he had a good meeting with Mr Trump in which they talked about the defence of the Ukrainian people, a full and unconditional ceasefire, and a durable and lasting peace that would prevent the war restarting.
Other images released by the Ukrainian president’s office show Sir Keir Starmer and French President Emmanuel Macron were present for part of the talks, which were described as “positive” by the French presidency.
Mr Zelenskyy‘s spokesman said the meeting lasted for around 15 minutes and he and Mr Trump had agreed to hold further discussions later on Saturday.
The world leaders shared a moment before the service
Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelenskyy meet in the Basilica
But the US president left Rome for Washington on Air Force One soon after the funeral without any other talks having taken place.
The Ukrainian president’s office said there was no second meeting in Rome because of the tight schedule of both leaders, although he had separate discussions with Mr Starmer and Mr Macron.
The French president said in a post on X “Ukraine is ready for an unconditional ceasefire” and that a so-called coalition of the willing, led by the UK and France, would continue working to achieve a lasting peace.
There was applause from some of the other world leaders in attendance at the Vatican when Mr Zelenskyy walked out of St Peter’s Basilica after stopping in front of the pontiff’s coffin to pay his respects.
Donald Trump and the Ukrainian president met for the first time since their Oval Office row. Pic: Reuters
Sir Tony Brenton, the former British ambassador to Russia, said the event presents diplomatic opportunities, including the “biggest possible meeting” between Mr Trump and the Ukrainian leader.
He told Sky News it could mark “an important step” in starting the peace process between Russia and Ukraine.
Professor Father Francesco Giordano told Sky News the meeting is being called “Pope Francis’s miracle” by members of the clergy, adding: “There’s so many things that happened today – it was just overwhelming.”
The bilateral meeting comes after Mr Trump’s peace negotiator Steve Witkoff held talks with Mr Putin at the Kremlin.
They discussed “the possibility of resuming direct negotiations between Russia and Ukraine”, Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov said.
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Russia and Ukraine have not held direct talks since the early weeks of the war, which began in February 2022.
Mr Trump has claimed a deal to end the war is “very close” and has urged Mr Zelenskyy to “get it done” in a post on his Truth Social platform.
He has previously warned both sides his administration would walk away from its efforts to achieve a peace if the two sides do not agree a deal soon.
Meanwhile, the Polish armed forces said a Russian military helicopter violated its airspace over the Baltic Sea on Friday evening.
“The nature of the incident indicates that Russia is testing the readiness of our air defence systems,” they said in a post on X.
On an extraordinary day, remarkable pictures on the margins that capture what may be a turning point for the world.
In a corner of St Peter’s Basilica before the funeral of Pope Francis, the leaders of America and Ukraine sit facing each other in two solitary chairs.
They look like confessor and sinner except we cannot tell which one is which.
Leaning forward hands together in their laps, Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelenskyy stare at each other in one photo.
In another, the Ukrainian president seems to be remonstrating with the US president. This is their first encounter since their infamous bust-up in the Oval Office.
The two leaders held talks before attending the Pope’s funeral
Other pictures show the moment their French and British counterparts introduced the two men. There is a palpable sense of nervousness in the way the leaders engage.
We do not know what the two presidents said in their brief meeting.
But in the mind of the Ukrainian leader will be the knowledge President Trump has this week said America will reward Russia for its unprovoked brutal invasion of his country, under any peace deal.
Mr Trump has presented Ukraine and Russia with a proposal and ultimatum so one-sided it could have been written in the Kremlin.
Kyiv must surrender the land Russia has taken by force, Crimea forever, the rest at least for now. And it must submit to an act of extortion, a proposed deal that would hand over half its mineral wealth effectively to America.
The world leaders shared a moment before the service
Afterwards, Zelenskyy said it had been a good meeting that could turn out to be historic “if we reach results together”.
They had talked, he said, about the defence of Ukraine, a full and unconditional ceasefire and a durable and lasting peace that will prevent a war restarting.
The Trump peace proposal includes only unspecified security guarantees for Ukraine from countries that do not include the US. It rules out any membership of Ukraine.
Ukraine’s allies are watching closely to see if Mr Trump will apply any pressure on Vladimir Putin, let alone punish him for recent bloody attacks on Ukraine.
Or will he simply walk away if the proposal fails, blaming Ukrainian intransigence, however outrageously, before moving onto a rapprochement with Moscow.
If he does, America’s role as guarantor of international security will be seen effectively as over.
This could be the week we see the world order as we have known it since the end of the Second World War buried, as well as a pope.
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