Rescuers in Myanmar, Thailand hunt for quake survivors as death toll passes 1,000

Updated March 29, 2025, 05:00 a.m ET.

BANGKOK – The death toll from Myanmar’s massive earthquake soared past 1,000 on Saturday, the country’s junta said, as international assistance began to trickle into the war-torn country.

Rescuers hunted for survivors including those hundreds of kilometers away from the quake epicenter in the Thai capital, Bangkok, where a high rise collapsed, burying dozens of construction workers.

The Myanmar junta’s information team reported 1,002 deaths, up from the 144 deaths reported Friday in the first hours after the earthquake, and more than 2,000 injured.

The U.S. and Russia offered assistance, with Moscow sending 120 rescuers and doctors, according to the TASS news agency. Malaysia said it would send 50 people on Sunday to provide aid to the worst-hit areas. A Chinese rescue team arrived on Saturday, Xinhua news reported.

The 7.7 magnitude quake was centered near Myanmar’s second largest city Mandalay. Shan state, Sagaing, Bago, Magway and Naypyidaw also suffered major damage, prompting the junta to declare a state of emergency in the affected regions.

In Pyinmana, a town just east of Myanmar’s capital, 40 bodies were found in collapsed buildings, residents told RFA Burmese, and more than 130 injured people were sent to nearby hospitals.

A rescue worker said that there were still many people trapped under the rubble of collapsed buildings in the town.

“The entire area is destroyed, and we are working tirelessly on rescue operations. We just sent one body to the morgue and are now continuing the search,” he said. “Unfortunately, we can’t assist in other areas. Even in Pyinmana, our efforts are hindered, and we’re unable to go further.”

The disaster has raised concerns about how aid would reach victims in Myanmar, which has been embroiled in a civil war since the military overthrew a civilian government in a 2021 coup. The fighting has driven more than 3 million people from their homes.

“This earthquake could not come at a worse time for Myanmar,” said Amnesty International’s Myanmar Researcher Joe Freeman. “Over a third of the population will need humanitarian assistance this year.

“In a country where the military has banned many media outlets and internet access is restricted, we may not have a clear picture of the extent of damage and loss for some time,” he said.

(Stephen Wright/RFA)

In Bangkok on Saturday, 1000 kilometers (620 miles) from the quake’s epicenter, soldiers and government disaster response workers continued to hunt for construction workers trapped when a 33-storey government building collapsed. Nine people are confirmed dead and 79 missing, according to information from rescue crews at the scene.

Backhoes picked at the giant mound of grey building debris next to the famous Chatuchak market as police shooed away reporters and bystanders from the entrance to the site.

“We Thais are working our hardest to try to rescue them. Today, we are waiting for good news,” said Suchatvee Suwansawat, part of a team of engineers involved in the rescue operation. “We will see how many survivors we can find, but it is very hard. This is something we have never faced before.”

Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra ordered an investigation into the collapse, with the results due next week.

“Essential services as well as businesses and tourist providers are operating as normal,” the government said Saturday as most rail lines in the capital reopened and airports across Thailand resumed regular operations after safety checks.

Small tremors were still taking place Saturday according to Thailand’s meteorological department, which recorded 77 aftershocks as of 6 a.m., although no significant damage was reported.

The earthquake was felt in China’s Yunnan and Sichuan provinces and caused damage and injuries in the city of Ruili on the border with Myanmar, according to Chinese media reports.

The shaking in Mangshi, a Chinese city about 100 kilometers (60 miles) northeast of Ruili, was so strong that people couldn’t stand, one resident told The Paper, an online media outlet.

Updated to add details of the Bangkok rescue operation and comment from an engineer.

Edited by Taejun Kang and Stephen Wright.

Apichart Sopapong, Phetsiam Promngoy and Pimuk Rakkanam contributed to this story.