Myanmar quake victim rescued after 5 days as aid calls grow
By AFP
April 2, 2025
A joint team of Myanmar and Turkish rescuers pull a man alive from the rubble of a hotel in the capital Naypyidaw, five days after a major earthquake
By AFP
April 2, 2025
A joint team of Myanmar and Turkish rescuers pull a man alive from the rubble of a hotel in the capital Naypyidaw, five days after a major earthquake
- Copyright MYANMAR MILITARY INFORMATION TEAM/AFP Handout
Rescuers on Wednesday pulled a man alive from the rubble five days after Myanmar’s devastating earthquake, as calls grew for the junta to allow more aid in and halt attacks on rebels.
The shallow 7.7-magnitude earthquake on Friday flattened buildings across Myanmar, killing more than 2,700 people and making thousands more homeless.
Several leading armed groups fighting the military have suspended hostilities during the quake recovery, but junta chief Min Aung Hlaing vowed to continue “defensive activities” against “terrorists”.
UN agencies, rights groups and foreign governments have urged all sides in Myanmar’s civil war to stop fighting and focus on helping those affected by the quake, the biggest to hit the country in decades.
Hopes of finding more survivors are fading, but there was a moment of joy on Wednesday as a man was pulled alive from the ruins of a hotel in the capital Naypyidaw.
The 26-year-old hotel worker was extracted by a joint Myanmar-Turkish team shortly after midnight, the fire service and junta said.
Dazed and dusty but conscious, the man was pulled through a hole in the rubble and put on a stretcher, video posted on Facebook by the Myanmar Fire Services Department shows.
– Call for peace –
Min Aung Hlaing said Tuesday that the death toll had risen to 2,719, with more than 4,500 injured and 441 still missing.
But with patchy communication and infrastructure delaying efforts to gather information and deliver aid, the true scale of the disaster has yet to become clear, and the toll is likely to rise.
Relief groups say that that response has been hindered by continued fighting between the junta and the complex patchwork of armed groups opposed to its rule, which began in a 2021 coup.
Julie Bishop, the UN special envoy on Myanmar, called on all sides to “focus their efforts on the protection of civilians, including aid workers, and the delivery of life-saving assistance”.
Even before Friday’s earthquake, 3.5 million people were displaced by the fighting, many of them at risk of hunger, according to the United Nations.
Late Tuesday, an alliance of three of Myanmar’s most powerful ethnic minority armed groups announced a one-month pause in hostilities to support humanitarian efforts in response to the quake.
The announcement by the Three Brotherhood Alliance followed a separate partial ceasefire called by the People’s Defence Force — civilian groups that took up arms after the coup to fight junta rule.
But there have been multiple reports of junta air strikes against rebel groups since the quake.
“We are aware that some ethnic armed groups are currently not engaged in combat, but are organising and training to carry out attacks,” said Min Aung Hlaing, mentioning sabotage against the electricity supply.
“Since such activities constitute attacks, the Tatmadaw (armed forces) will continue to carry out necessary defensive activities,” he said in a statement late Tuesday.
– Thailand toll rises –
Australia’s government decried the reported air strikes saying they “exacerbated the suffering of the people”.
“We condemn these acts and call on the military regime to immediately cease military operations and allow full humanitarian access to affected areas,” Foreign Minister Penny Wong said.
Amnesty International said “inhumane” military attacks were significantly complicating earthquake relief efforts in Myanmar.
“You cannot ask for aid with one hand and bomb with the other,” said the group’s Myanmar researcher Joe Freeman.
Hundreds of kilometres (miles) away, in the Thai capital Bangkok, workers continued to scour a pile of rubble that formed when Friday’s tremors collapsed a 30-storey skyscraper.
The structure had been under construction at the time, and its crash buried dozens of builders — few of whom have come out alive.
The death toll at the site has risen to 22, with more than 70 still believed trapped in the rubble.
burs-pfc-pdw/rsc
Rescuers on Wednesday pulled a man alive from the rubble five days after Myanmar’s devastating earthquake, as calls grew for the junta to allow more aid in and halt attacks on rebels.
The shallow 7.7-magnitude earthquake on Friday flattened buildings across Myanmar, killing more than 2,700 people and making thousands more homeless.
Several leading armed groups fighting the military have suspended hostilities during the quake recovery, but junta chief Min Aung Hlaing vowed to continue “defensive activities” against “terrorists”.
UN agencies, rights groups and foreign governments have urged all sides in Myanmar’s civil war to stop fighting and focus on helping those affected by the quake, the biggest to hit the country in decades.
Hopes of finding more survivors are fading, but there was a moment of joy on Wednesday as a man was pulled alive from the ruins of a hotel in the capital Naypyidaw.
The 26-year-old hotel worker was extracted by a joint Myanmar-Turkish team shortly after midnight, the fire service and junta said.
Dazed and dusty but conscious, the man was pulled through a hole in the rubble and put on a stretcher, video posted on Facebook by the Myanmar Fire Services Department shows.
– Call for peace –
Min Aung Hlaing said Tuesday that the death toll had risen to 2,719, with more than 4,500 injured and 441 still missing.
But with patchy communication and infrastructure delaying efforts to gather information and deliver aid, the true scale of the disaster has yet to become clear, and the toll is likely to rise.
Relief groups say that that response has been hindered by continued fighting between the junta and the complex patchwork of armed groups opposed to its rule, which began in a 2021 coup.
Julie Bishop, the UN special envoy on Myanmar, called on all sides to “focus their efforts on the protection of civilians, including aid workers, and the delivery of life-saving assistance”.
Even before Friday’s earthquake, 3.5 million people were displaced by the fighting, many of them at risk of hunger, according to the United Nations.
Late Tuesday, an alliance of three of Myanmar’s most powerful ethnic minority armed groups announced a one-month pause in hostilities to support humanitarian efforts in response to the quake.
The announcement by the Three Brotherhood Alliance followed a separate partial ceasefire called by the People’s Defence Force — civilian groups that took up arms after the coup to fight junta rule.
But there have been multiple reports of junta air strikes against rebel groups since the quake.
“We are aware that some ethnic armed groups are currently not engaged in combat, but are organising and training to carry out attacks,” said Min Aung Hlaing, mentioning sabotage against the electricity supply.
“Since such activities constitute attacks, the Tatmadaw (armed forces) will continue to carry out necessary defensive activities,” he said in a statement late Tuesday.
– Thailand toll rises –
Australia’s government decried the reported air strikes saying they “exacerbated the suffering of the people”.
“We condemn these acts and call on the military regime to immediately cease military operations and allow full humanitarian access to affected areas,” Foreign Minister Penny Wong said.
Amnesty International said “inhumane” military attacks were significantly complicating earthquake relief efforts in Myanmar.
“You cannot ask for aid with one hand and bomb with the other,” said the group’s Myanmar researcher Joe Freeman.
Hundreds of kilometres (miles) away, in the Thai capital Bangkok, workers continued to scour a pile of rubble that formed when Friday’s tremors collapsed a 30-storey skyscraper.
The structure had been under construction at the time, and its crash buried dozens of builders — few of whom have come out alive.
The death toll at the site has risen to 22, with more than 70 still believed trapped in the rubble.
burs-pfc-pdw/rsc
By AFP
April 2, 2025
A 7.7-magnitude earthquake that struck central Myanmar has reduced many buildings to rubble
- Copyright AFP/File
Brendan SMIALOWSKI
Bare-handed monks slowly pick away the rubble that was once the wall of a historic Buddhist monastery in Mandalay, its exposed side a searing reminder of the deadly earthquake that rocked the city five days ago.
“Some of the buildings have been around for longer than me,” said Wayama, a grey-haired monk at the place of worship in Myanmar’s second city.
“So it makes me sad to see them destroyed,” he said.
Donning only crimson cloths around their waists and simple slippers, Wayama’s young colleagues at the Thahtay Kyaung Monastery worked to remove piles of debris.
Teams of two piled loose bricks and other crumbled material into large sections of fabric, heaving the rubble aside to make way for walking.
Wayama said his heart aches for more than just the monastery.
“There are a lot of buildings that were destroyed here that have been around for more than 100 years.
“It makes me said to see damages in other places too,” he said. “I want everyone to be ok.”
The Southeast Asian country of over 50 million people is still coming to grips with the scale of damage caused by the deadly quake, which so far has resulted in nearly 3,000 confirmed deaths.
But with four years of civil war having left infrastructure in tatters, relief efforts have been complicated and the toll is expected to rise.
– ‘Day after tomorrow’ –
Nyo Nyo San was in the Mandalay monastery at the time of the deadly earthquake.
When the shaking began, she stayed put, thinking they were only small tremors — the type she had experienced in the past.
“But this time, the earthquake was much stronger, and bricks were falling around the monastery,” she said.
“I felt like I was living in hell, and I ran to escape outside.”
Mandalay has suffered some of the worst damage from the recent earthquake, flattening buildings and upending the lives of many of its more than 1.7 million residents.
Rattled by aftershocks in recent days, hundreds of people are still sleeping in tents and under tarps outdoors, unsure of when they can return to permanent shelter.
Across the country, infrastucture already damaged by years of war has now received another blow.
Nyo Nyo San said she plans to return home to her village soon.
But in order to make the journey, she needs to pass through the Sagaing region — the epicentre of Friday’s quake.
“The Sagaing bridge is broken, and the roads are destroyed,” she said.
“I hope to be able to go home the day after tomorrow.”
Bare-handed monks slowly pick away the rubble that was once the wall of a historic Buddhist monastery in Mandalay, its exposed side a searing reminder of the deadly earthquake that rocked the city five days ago.
“Some of the buildings have been around for longer than me,” said Wayama, a grey-haired monk at the place of worship in Myanmar’s second city.
“So it makes me sad to see them destroyed,” he said.
Donning only crimson cloths around their waists and simple slippers, Wayama’s young colleagues at the Thahtay Kyaung Monastery worked to remove piles of debris.
Teams of two piled loose bricks and other crumbled material into large sections of fabric, heaving the rubble aside to make way for walking.
Wayama said his heart aches for more than just the monastery.
“There are a lot of buildings that were destroyed here that have been around for more than 100 years.
“It makes me said to see damages in other places too,” he said. “I want everyone to be ok.”
The Southeast Asian country of over 50 million people is still coming to grips with the scale of damage caused by the deadly quake, which so far has resulted in nearly 3,000 confirmed deaths.
But with four years of civil war having left infrastructure in tatters, relief efforts have been complicated and the toll is expected to rise.
– ‘Day after tomorrow’ –
Nyo Nyo San was in the Mandalay monastery at the time of the deadly earthquake.
When the shaking began, she stayed put, thinking they were only small tremors — the type she had experienced in the past.
“But this time, the earthquake was much stronger, and bricks were falling around the monastery,” she said.
“I felt like I was living in hell, and I ran to escape outside.”
Mandalay has suffered some of the worst damage from the recent earthquake, flattening buildings and upending the lives of many of its more than 1.7 million residents.
Rattled by aftershocks in recent days, hundreds of people are still sleeping in tents and under tarps outdoors, unsure of when they can return to permanent shelter.
Across the country, infrastucture already damaged by years of war has now received another blow.
Nyo Nyo San said she plans to return home to her village soon.
But in order to make the journey, she needs to pass through the Sagaing region — the epicentre of Friday’s quake.
“The Sagaing bridge is broken, and the roads are destroyed,” she said.
“I hope to be able to go home the day after tomorrow.”
Sirens wail and families cry at Myanmar disaster site
By AFP
April 1, 2025
Farmer Shwe Sin had been on a call with her 20-year-old daughter, an accountant at Sky Villa -- among the worst disaster sites in Mandalay -- when the quake struck - Copyright AFP Sebastien BERGER
Sebastien Berger and Hla-Hla Htay
As the sirens wailed outside the ruins of Mandalay’s Sky Villa condominium and Myanmar began a minute’s silence for its more than 2,000 earthquake dead, Shwe Sin thought of her missing child.
“She is such a good daughter,” said the 40-year-old.
The last time she saw Chit Yamin Pyae, she told AFP in tears, “she paid homage to me and her father by touching her forehead to my feet”.
The 7.7-magnitude earthquake struck at 12:51:02 (0621 GMT) on Friday, rocking the earth, toppling some buildings and destroying others.
On Tuesday at precisely the same time, it was hearts that were ripped asunder as the nation fell silent to remember the dead.
A farmer in northern Shan state, Shwe Sin had been on a call with her 20-year-old daughter, an accountant at Sky Villa — among the worst disaster sites in the city — when the quake struck.
Her daughter called out to a friend: “Sister Sister! It is an earthquake! I am scared!”
“What happened? What happened, daughter?” her mother asked.
“I heard her voice but she didn’t hear mine,” Shwe Sin told AFP.
Minutes later the tremors reached her 140 kilometres (87 miles) away in the Shan town of Momeik, and the connection was cut.
The Sky Villa block was one of Mandalay’s better housing options, with a generator offering 24-hour electricity — a rarity in war-ravaged Myanmar even before Friday’s quake — as well as a gym and a swimming pool.
Those who could afford its creature comforts would choose to live there, said one onlooker.
For an unknown number — and the staff who served them — it has become their tomb.
– 11th floor escape –
Some sections collapsed completely, each storey pancaking down on to the next. In another area, the top six levels remained twisted and broken but standing on the remains of those below.
Zhu Zhu was with a friend on the 11th floor when the quake hit.
“I thought that was the day I would die,” the 20-year-old student told AFP.
“I thought about my parents. I thought I was going to die soon and kept thinking about my mum and dad. It felt like the end for me.”
She ran for the emergency exit and escaped through a hole in the wall.
“In the chaos, people collided with each other. As I was jumping and running through the rubble, the rest of the building collapsed, and many people were trapped underneath,” she said.
“I was running blindly, not knowing where I was going. After a while, the dust cleared, and I realised the building had collapsed behind me.”
Among those trapped was her friend Si Si, 26, who was like an older sister to her, Zhu Zhu said.
She has been keeping a vigil at the apartment block every day since the disaster, she said, arriving at 6:00 am and not leaving until after nightfall.
“I hoped she would survive for three days without food or water, but after four days, all I can do is wait for her body to be found. Her family is grieving, and there is no hope left,” she said, wiping tears from her eyes.
“She was so happy before all of this happened. Now, I can’t even imagine what she looks like. I don’t want to imagine it.”
– Share merit –
Missing posters printed on plastic sheets have begun to appear in the area around the site, sometimes held in place by bricks. In one, a man in blue gives a jaunty thumbs-up in the doorway of what looks like an office building.
In another, four images apparently from the same family show a middle-aged woman, a younger one and a toddler waving uncertainly at the camera.
“They have not yet been found at Sky Villa condo,” reads the caption. “If you find them please contact these numbers.”
In places, the smell of decaying corpses wafts from the debris.
A mechanical digger halfway up a pile of rubble pawed at the concrete, breaking it up.
Nearby a woman stood quietly, looking at the section where her younger brother lived on the third floor and was still inside.
“Please take my good deeds so you can pass to the next life,” said her friend, sharing her accumulated merit in a Buddhist spiritual practice.
“Please don’t share yet, he could still be alive,” the woman replied.
By AFP
April 1, 2025
Farmer Shwe Sin had been on a call with her 20-year-old daughter, an accountant at Sky Villa -- among the worst disaster sites in Mandalay -- when the quake struck - Copyright AFP Sebastien BERGER
Sebastien Berger and Hla-Hla Htay
As the sirens wailed outside the ruins of Mandalay’s Sky Villa condominium and Myanmar began a minute’s silence for its more than 2,000 earthquake dead, Shwe Sin thought of her missing child.
“She is such a good daughter,” said the 40-year-old.
The last time she saw Chit Yamin Pyae, she told AFP in tears, “she paid homage to me and her father by touching her forehead to my feet”.
The 7.7-magnitude earthquake struck at 12:51:02 (0621 GMT) on Friday, rocking the earth, toppling some buildings and destroying others.
On Tuesday at precisely the same time, it was hearts that were ripped asunder as the nation fell silent to remember the dead.
A farmer in northern Shan state, Shwe Sin had been on a call with her 20-year-old daughter, an accountant at Sky Villa — among the worst disaster sites in the city — when the quake struck.
Her daughter called out to a friend: “Sister Sister! It is an earthquake! I am scared!”
“What happened? What happened, daughter?” her mother asked.
“I heard her voice but she didn’t hear mine,” Shwe Sin told AFP.
Minutes later the tremors reached her 140 kilometres (87 miles) away in the Shan town of Momeik, and the connection was cut.
The Sky Villa block was one of Mandalay’s better housing options, with a generator offering 24-hour electricity — a rarity in war-ravaged Myanmar even before Friday’s quake — as well as a gym and a swimming pool.
Those who could afford its creature comforts would choose to live there, said one onlooker.
For an unknown number — and the staff who served them — it has become their tomb.
– 11th floor escape –
Some sections collapsed completely, each storey pancaking down on to the next. In another area, the top six levels remained twisted and broken but standing on the remains of those below.
Zhu Zhu was with a friend on the 11th floor when the quake hit.
“I thought that was the day I would die,” the 20-year-old student told AFP.
“I thought about my parents. I thought I was going to die soon and kept thinking about my mum and dad. It felt like the end for me.”
She ran for the emergency exit and escaped through a hole in the wall.
“In the chaos, people collided with each other. As I was jumping and running through the rubble, the rest of the building collapsed, and many people were trapped underneath,” she said.
“I was running blindly, not knowing where I was going. After a while, the dust cleared, and I realised the building had collapsed behind me.”
Among those trapped was her friend Si Si, 26, who was like an older sister to her, Zhu Zhu said.
She has been keeping a vigil at the apartment block every day since the disaster, she said, arriving at 6:00 am and not leaving until after nightfall.
“I hoped she would survive for three days without food or water, but after four days, all I can do is wait for her body to be found. Her family is grieving, and there is no hope left,” she said, wiping tears from her eyes.
“She was so happy before all of this happened. Now, I can’t even imagine what she looks like. I don’t want to imagine it.”
– Share merit –
Missing posters printed on plastic sheets have begun to appear in the area around the site, sometimes held in place by bricks. In one, a man in blue gives a jaunty thumbs-up in the doorway of what looks like an office building.
In another, four images apparently from the same family show a middle-aged woman, a younger one and a toddler waving uncertainly at the camera.
“They have not yet been found at Sky Villa condo,” reads the caption. “If you find them please contact these numbers.”
In places, the smell of decaying corpses wafts from the debris.
A mechanical digger halfway up a pile of rubble pawed at the concrete, breaking it up.
Nearby a woman stood quietly, looking at the section where her younger brother lived on the third floor and was still inside.
“Please take my good deeds so you can pass to the next life,” said her friend, sharing her accumulated merit in a Buddhist spiritual practice.
“Please don’t share yet, he could still be alive,” the woman replied.
‘Can collapse anytime’: Mandalay quake victims seek respite outdoors
By AFP
April 1, 2025
Friday's 7.7-magnitude earthquake struck in central Myanmar, killing more than 2,000 people - Copyright AFP Sai Aung MAIN, Sai Aung MAIN
Joe STENSON, Lynn MYAT
After a night sprawled out on cardboard panels under hastily erected plastic tarps, hundreds of Mandalay residents awoke Tuesday to more earthquake recovery work, wondering when they can return safely to permanent shelter.
The violent 7.7-magnitude earthquake struck Friday near the city in central Myanmar, killing more than 2,000 people, with fears the toll could rise significantly.
Initial tremors destroyed many homes across the city, and persistent aftershocks have left the residents of those spared wary of spending time indoors.
“We don’t dare to go back home because we are worried our neighbouring building will collapse on us,” said 57-year-old grandmother Hlaing Hlaing Hmwe.
“Children want to go back because the weather is hot here,” she said.
Temperatures on Tuesday in the city of more than 1.7 million people again approached 40 degrees Celsius.
Hlaing Hlaing Hmwe said they won’t be able to endure it much longer, so she is considering going to a monastery in search of shelter.
“We heard monasteries collapsed too but there is another one we can go to.”
Though sleeping in the open relieves one of the risk of falling buildings, Soe Tint said that basic amenities such as water, electricity and access to toilets are difficult to come by.
Still, it is preferable to the potential danger of being inside.
“We don’t feel safe to sleep at our home,” said the 71-year-old Mandalay resident. “So we moved to this field”.
The buildings next to his home are as high as six or seven storeys, and he said they are now leaning due to the tremors.
“I even think my own heartbeat is an earthquake.”
– Uncollected belongings –
At the U Hla Thein Buddhist examination hall, where part of the building collapsed as hundreds of monks took an exam, at least 60 uncollected book bags were piled on a table outside.
Textbooks, notebooks and passports were among the contents.
“These are the belongings of the monks who sat the exam,” said one attendant, adding there was a second pile elsewhere.
Fire engines and heavy lifting vehicles were parked outside and an Indian rescue team worked on the pancaked remains of the building.
One Indian officer said there was a terrible smell coming from the building.
“We don’t how many people are under the structure,” he said.
A Myanmar fire official confirmed: “Many dead bodies are coming out. There can be no survivors.”
Complicating recovery efforts is the country’s brutal ongoing civil war, sparked in 2021 when a military junta ousted Aung San Suu Kyi’s civilian government.
Since then, fighting between the military and a complex patchwork of anti-junta forces has left Myanmar’s infrastructure and economy in tatters.
The country is observing a week of mourning, as announced by the junta, with a minute of silence held Tuesday at 12:51:02 (0621 GMT) — the precise time the quake struck four days before.
In a compound on Tuesday next to Mandalay University, a Myanmar flag flew at half-mast, its yellow, green and red stripes stirred by a desultory breeze.
Traffic has picked up in the city since the quake, but one driver said it was still less than usual.
Soe Tint, who relocated to the field with his family, is eager to return to the comforts of home.
“No one knows how long it will take,” he said.
burs-pfc/aph/hmn
By AFP
April 1, 2025
Friday's 7.7-magnitude earthquake struck in central Myanmar, killing more than 2,000 people - Copyright AFP Sai Aung MAIN, Sai Aung MAIN
Joe STENSON, Lynn MYAT
After a night sprawled out on cardboard panels under hastily erected plastic tarps, hundreds of Mandalay residents awoke Tuesday to more earthquake recovery work, wondering when they can return safely to permanent shelter.
The violent 7.7-magnitude earthquake struck Friday near the city in central Myanmar, killing more than 2,000 people, with fears the toll could rise significantly.
Initial tremors destroyed many homes across the city, and persistent aftershocks have left the residents of those spared wary of spending time indoors.
“We don’t dare to go back home because we are worried our neighbouring building will collapse on us,” said 57-year-old grandmother Hlaing Hlaing Hmwe.
“Children want to go back because the weather is hot here,” she said.
Temperatures on Tuesday in the city of more than 1.7 million people again approached 40 degrees Celsius.
Hlaing Hlaing Hmwe said they won’t be able to endure it much longer, so she is considering going to a monastery in search of shelter.
“We heard monasteries collapsed too but there is another one we can go to.”
Though sleeping in the open relieves one of the risk of falling buildings, Soe Tint said that basic amenities such as water, electricity and access to toilets are difficult to come by.
Still, it is preferable to the potential danger of being inside.
“We don’t feel safe to sleep at our home,” said the 71-year-old Mandalay resident. “So we moved to this field”.
The buildings next to his home are as high as six or seven storeys, and he said they are now leaning due to the tremors.
“I even think my own heartbeat is an earthquake.”
– Uncollected belongings –
At the U Hla Thein Buddhist examination hall, where part of the building collapsed as hundreds of monks took an exam, at least 60 uncollected book bags were piled on a table outside.
Textbooks, notebooks and passports were among the contents.
“These are the belongings of the monks who sat the exam,” said one attendant, adding there was a second pile elsewhere.
Fire engines and heavy lifting vehicles were parked outside and an Indian rescue team worked on the pancaked remains of the building.
One Indian officer said there was a terrible smell coming from the building.
“We don’t how many people are under the structure,” he said.
A Myanmar fire official confirmed: “Many dead bodies are coming out. There can be no survivors.”
Complicating recovery efforts is the country’s brutal ongoing civil war, sparked in 2021 when a military junta ousted Aung San Suu Kyi’s civilian government.
Since then, fighting between the military and a complex patchwork of anti-junta forces has left Myanmar’s infrastructure and economy in tatters.
The country is observing a week of mourning, as announced by the junta, with a minute of silence held Tuesday at 12:51:02 (0621 GMT) — the precise time the quake struck four days before.
In a compound on Tuesday next to Mandalay University, a Myanmar flag flew at half-mast, its yellow, green and red stripes stirred by a desultory breeze.
Traffic has picked up in the city since the quake, but one driver said it was still less than usual.
Soe Tint, who relocated to the field with his family, is eager to return to the comforts of home.
“No one knows how long it will take,” he said.
burs-pfc/aph/hmn
‘Noble work’ of Buddhist cremations after Myanmar quake
By AFP
March 31, 2025
A worker transports the body of an earthquake victim for cremation at a facility on the outskirts of Mandalay, Myanmar on March 31, 2025
Hla-Hla HTAY, Joe STENSON
The baby was born in the aftermath of Myanmar’s earthquake and given to the flames of Buddhist funeral rites two days later, too young to have been named.
The child’s pregnant mother was knocked over by the force of the quake while working in a paddy field, said grandmother Khin Myo Swe, and gave birth the following day.
The baby was brought to a hospital in Mandalay to be incubated, but died on Monday.
“We are all living in hardship,” wept Khin Myo Swe as an ambulance worker gently cradled the little body before a Buddha statue decorated with flowers, then took it away to be cremated.
Three days after a 7.7-magnitude earthquake struck central Myanmar the death toll has hit 2,056, with more still buried in the remnants of ruined buildings in the nation’s second city.
Since the quake hit Friday, ambulances have been bringing the remains of the dead to the crematorium in the Kyar Ni Kan neighbourhood on the outskirts of Mandalay.
– ‘What others cannot’ –
Some 300 bodies have been delivered in total, more than 100 on Sunday alone, forcing them to work six hours beyond their usual closing time.
Some vehicles peel in with frenzied haste. A crew of men say they are bringing a 16-year-old female quake victim.
The bundle of cloth they deposit before the crematorium’s sliding metal door is much shorter than a typical teenage girl and one man retches as they bundle back in the van.
They do not speak as they leave the crematorium lot — eager to ferry her clothing home to bring her soul back to her family.
Nay Htet Lin, the head of another four-man crew who have brought in around 80 bodies since the quake, said: “On the first day of the earthquake, we helped injured people get to hospital.
“On the second day, we had to carry only dead bodies.”
– Cleansing fire –
Cremation is a core tenet of the Buddhist faith, with adherents believing it frees the soul from the body and facilitates rebirth in a new life.
In some Asian cultures, those who deal with the dead are regarded as outcasts, on the margins of society.
But Nay Htet Lin told AFP it was “noble work”.
“We are doing what other people cannot,” he said. “We will have a good next life.”
One 15-year veteran crematorium staffer had no regrets over his choice of workplace, even as he witnessed a parade of anguish.
“Everyone is coming here with their sad feelings, with their suffering,” said the 43-year-old, asking for anonymity as he was not authorised to speak to the media.
“When they come here I also work for them.”
– Food offering –
Much of the focus of rescue teams has been in urban Mandalay where apartment complexes have been flattened, a Buddhist religious complex eviscerated and hotels crumpled and twisted into ruins.
At some disaster sites the smell of rotting bodies is unmistakable.
Khin Myo Swe’s short-lived grandchild was the 39th body delivered on Monday. She said the baby’s mother had not yet been told of her child’s death.
It costs less than $3 at free-market rates to cremate an adult in the diesel-fuelled facility, and half that for an infant.
“I had to lie to my daughter, telling her I left the baby in hospital,” said Khin Myo Swe, 49.
“If I tell her now I’m worried the shock would kill her too.
“I will send food as an offering to the monastery for the baby’s soul.”
By AFP
March 31, 2025
A worker transports the body of an earthquake victim for cremation at a facility on the outskirts of Mandalay, Myanmar on March 31, 2025
- Copyright AFP Sam Yeh
Hla-Hla HTAY, Joe STENSON
The baby was born in the aftermath of Myanmar’s earthquake and given to the flames of Buddhist funeral rites two days later, too young to have been named.
The child’s pregnant mother was knocked over by the force of the quake while working in a paddy field, said grandmother Khin Myo Swe, and gave birth the following day.
The baby was brought to a hospital in Mandalay to be incubated, but died on Monday.
“We are all living in hardship,” wept Khin Myo Swe as an ambulance worker gently cradled the little body before a Buddha statue decorated with flowers, then took it away to be cremated.
Three days after a 7.7-magnitude earthquake struck central Myanmar the death toll has hit 2,056, with more still buried in the remnants of ruined buildings in the nation’s second city.
Since the quake hit Friday, ambulances have been bringing the remains of the dead to the crematorium in the Kyar Ni Kan neighbourhood on the outskirts of Mandalay.
– ‘What others cannot’ –
Some 300 bodies have been delivered in total, more than 100 on Sunday alone, forcing them to work six hours beyond their usual closing time.
Some vehicles peel in with frenzied haste. A crew of men say they are bringing a 16-year-old female quake victim.
The bundle of cloth they deposit before the crematorium’s sliding metal door is much shorter than a typical teenage girl and one man retches as they bundle back in the van.
They do not speak as they leave the crematorium lot — eager to ferry her clothing home to bring her soul back to her family.
Nay Htet Lin, the head of another four-man crew who have brought in around 80 bodies since the quake, said: “On the first day of the earthquake, we helped injured people get to hospital.
“On the second day, we had to carry only dead bodies.”
– Cleansing fire –
Cremation is a core tenet of the Buddhist faith, with adherents believing it frees the soul from the body and facilitates rebirth in a new life.
In some Asian cultures, those who deal with the dead are regarded as outcasts, on the margins of society.
But Nay Htet Lin told AFP it was “noble work”.
“We are doing what other people cannot,” he said. “We will have a good next life.”
One 15-year veteran crematorium staffer had no regrets over his choice of workplace, even as he witnessed a parade of anguish.
“Everyone is coming here with their sad feelings, with their suffering,” said the 43-year-old, asking for anonymity as he was not authorised to speak to the media.
“When they come here I also work for them.”
– Food offering –
Much of the focus of rescue teams has been in urban Mandalay where apartment complexes have been flattened, a Buddhist religious complex eviscerated and hotels crumpled and twisted into ruins.
At some disaster sites the smell of rotting bodies is unmistakable.
Khin Myo Swe’s short-lived grandchild was the 39th body delivered on Monday. She said the baby’s mother had not yet been told of her child’s death.
It costs less than $3 at free-market rates to cremate an adult in the diesel-fuelled facility, and half that for an infant.
“I had to lie to my daughter, telling her I left the baby in hospital,” said Khin Myo Swe, 49.
“If I tell her now I’m worried the shock would kill her too.
“I will send food as an offering to the monastery for the baby’s soul.”
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