BANGKOK, Thailand – Rescue workers have pulled a woman from the rubble of a collapsed hotel in Myanmar, officials said on Sunday (31st), as hopes of finding more survivors diminish on the third day following a devastating earthquake that has claimed around 2,000 lives. Rescue teams from Myanmar and Thailand are continuing efforts to locate survivors.
The woman was rescued from the ruins of the Great Wall Hotel in Mandalay after being trapped for more than 60 hours. A joint team of rescuers from China, Russia, and local units worked for five hours to free her, according to a statement by the Chinese Embassy on Facebook.
Mandalay is located near the epicenter of the 7.7-magnitude earthquake that struck on Friday, causing massive destruction in Myanmar and affecting neighboring Thailand.
In Bangkok, rescue workers are using cranes and sniffer dogs to search for 76 people believed to be trapped under the debris of a collapsed construction site.
“The search will continue beyond 72 hours because, in Turkey, people have survived being trapped for a week. We are not calling off the rescue operation,” said Bangkok Governor Chadchart Sittipunt.
He added that scanning equipment had detected weak vital signs beneath the rubble, prompting the deployment of sniffer dogs to locate survivors.
“We have detected faint life signals in several spots,” the governor stated.
Thailand’s official death toll stands at 18, but officials warn that the number could rise if no further rescues are made in the collapsed buildings.
In Myanmar, state media reported that at least 1,700 deaths had been confirmed. However, The Wall Street Journal cited Myanmar’s military government, stating that the death toll had reached 2,028. Reuters has not yet independently verified the latest figure. Meanwhile, the United Nations estimates that around 23,000 people in central Myanmar are in urgent need of humanitarian assistance.
“Our teams in Mandalay are ramping up humanitarian aid despite the heartbreaking devastation. Time is critical, and Myanmar needs unity and global support to overcome this immense disaster,” said Noriko Takagi, the UNHCR representative in Myanmar.
India, China, and Thailand have sent relief supplies and emergency response teams to Myanmar, with additional aid and personnel coming from Malaysia, Singapore, and Russia.
The United States has pledged $2 million in aid through humanitarian organizations operating in Myanmar. In a statement, Washington said that an emergency response team from USAID—whose funding was significantly cut under President Donald Trump—is en route to Myanmar.
The earthquake has compounded Myanmar’s struggles, which have already been exacerbated by ongoing civil conflict following the military’s 2021 coup that ousted the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi.
An armed resistance group has accused the Myanmar military of continuing airstrikes on villages even after the earthquake struck. Meanwhile, Singapore’s foreign minister has urged an immediate ceasefire to facilitate humanitarian relief.
Key infrastructure, including bridges, highways, airports, and railways across the country of 55 million people, has suffered severe damage, further delaying rescue and relief efforts.
