Man pulled alive from rubble in Myanmar after five days
A 26-year-old man was rescued from hotel in capital Naypyidaw, long after disaster that has killed thousands
Five days after a devastating 7.7 earthquake struck Myanmar, and killed thousands, victims are still being pulled from the rubble.
A man was recovered from the rubble of a hotel in Myanmar today(2 April), five days after the earthquake flattened entire neighbourhoods and tore through temples, bridges and highways, says the Guardian.
The 26-year-old was found alive in the ruins of the building in the capital, Naypyidaw, by a joint team of rescuers from Myanmar and Turkey after midnight, the fire service and the country's ruling junta said.
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The disaster has killed more than 2,700 people, and the death toll is expected to surpass 3,000 on Wednesday, said Myanmar's military ruler, Min Aung Hlaing. Humanitarian agencies urged other countries to ramp up aid ahead of the monsoon rains.
Close to the epicentre, in the decimated cities of Mandalay and Sagaing, traumatised survivors slept in the street, with the stench of corpses trapped under the rubble permeating the disaster zone. Water, food and medicine are in short supply, and the monsoon could hit in May.
"The devastating impact of Friday's earthquake is becoming clearer by the hour – this is a crisis on top of a crisis for Myanmar, where the humanitarian situation is already dire," said Arif Noor, the Myanmar country director for the humanitarian agency Care.
"Rescue teams are still recovering those trapped under the rubble, and hospitals are overwhelmed. The physical and mental scars of this catastrophe will last for decades."
Friday's powerful quake is the latest in a succession of blows for the impoverished country of 53 million, which has been plagued by a civil war since the military seized power in a 2021 coup that has devastated the economy after a decade of development and tentative democracy.
