KATHMANDU. Myanmar’s military rulers on Saturday deployed hundreds of foreign rescue workers to help the poor, war-torn country after a devastating earthquake last week killed more than 1,600 people. The strongest quake in a long time has caused widespread damage to life and property.
Friday’s 7.7-magnitude quake, one of the biggest to hit the Southeast Asian nation, has devastated the economy. Millions of civilians already displaced by the civil war are again in need. The country’s main airport, bridges and highways have been destroyed.
The military government said on Saturday that the death toll in Myanmar had reached 1,644, according to the BBC Burmese news service. At least nine people have also died in neighboring Thailand.
Rescuers are struggling to dig through the rubble with their bare hands, lacking the heavy equipment needed to rescue survivors. On Saturday, rescue efforts continued in Bangkok after a 33-story tower collapsed, leaving 47 people missing or trapped, including Myanmar workers.
The U.S. Geological Survey’s predictive modeling estimates that the death toll in Myanmar could exceed 10,000. The damage is now estimated to be more than the country’s annual economic output.
