More than 90 people were reportedly trapped inside the crushed remains of an apartment block in Mandalay in central Myanmar destroyed by a devastating earthquake, a Red Cross official told AFP on March 29 as rescuers worked to free the victims.
Image: AFP
The South African government has sent its ambassador to Thailand, Darkey Ephraim Africa, to assist the country’s citizens who may be stuck in Myanmar following an earthquake that has left over a thousand people dead.
Chrispin Phiri, Spokesperson for the Department of International Relations and Cooperation (Dirco) said they accredited Africa because South Africa does not have a mission in Myanmar.
He said Myanmar is a state that they do not recognise because its government is a military junta.
He added that engaging the Myanmar government and processing the information about South Africans who may be affected by the earthquake is complicated.
“We rely on Thailand authorities to tell us anything that’s happening on that side and South Africans themselves to notify us that they are in Thailand. And if they don’t do so, it really makes it very difficult to track and trace our citizens.
“As you may have seen with the 23 South Africans who were repatriated, one of our appeals is that they must notify us when they go abroad so that we have a mechanism of knowing who is in which country. And then the mission will be able to account for them should anything arise,” Phiri said.
Residents scoured collapsed buildings on Sunday searching for survivors as aftershocks rattled the devastated city of Mandalay, two days after a massive earthquake killed at least 1700 people in Myanmar and at least 18 in neighbouring Thailand.
The initial 7.7-magnitude quake struck near the central Myanmar city of Mandalay early Friday afternoon, followed minutes later by a 6.7-magnitude aftershock.
The tremors collapsed buildings, downed bridges and buckled roads, with mass destruction seen in the city of more than 1.7 million people.
Tea shop owner Win Lwin picked his way through the remains of a collapsed restaurant on a main road in his neighbourhood early Sunday, tossing bricks aside one by one.
"About seven people died here" when the quake struck, he told AFP.
"I'm looking for more bodies but I know there cannot be any survivors."
A small aftershock struck in the morning, sending people scurrying out of a hotel for safety, following a similar tremor felt late Saturday evening.
And around 2:00 pm (0730 GMT), another aftershock - of 5.1-magnitude according to the US Geological Survey - sent people into the streets in alarm once again, temporarily halting rescue work.
Myanmar's ruling junta said in a statement Sunday afternoon that about 3400 people were injured and around 300 more missing.
But with communications down in many areas, the true scale of the disaster remains unclear in the isolated military-ruled state, and the toll is expected to rise significantly.
At a destroyed Buddhist examination hall in Mandalay, Myanmar and Chinese responders worked to find buried victims.
San Nwe Aye, sister of a 46-year-old monk missing in the collapsed hall, appeared in deep distress, and told AFP she has heard no news about his status.
"I want to hear the sound of him preaching," she said. "The whole village looked up to him."
At a collapsed apartment block in the city, rescuers thought they had saved the life of a pregnant woman trapped under rubble for more than 55 hours.
They even amputated her leg to free her, but after pulling her out they were unable to resuscitate her and she was pronounced dead.
The UN said overnight that a severe lack of medical equipment is hindering Myanmar's response to the quake, while aid agencies have warned that the country is unprepared to deal with a disaster of this magnitude.
Cape Times
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