Myanmar Earthquake: Man Rescued After 108 Hours

Photo : AP

A 26-year-old man named Naing Lin Tun was saved from the broken parts of a hotel in Myanmar’s capital. He had been stuck under the fallen building for nearly 108 hours after a big earthquake hit the country. Rescue workers had been searching for people for five days, mostly finding dead bodies, but early Wednesday, they found him alive.

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Rescue teams used a small camera to see where he was under the fallen building and checked if he was breathing. They slowly made a hole in the floor with special tools and carefully pulled him out. A video showed him covered in dust, not wearing a shirt, and looking very weak. But he was still awake. Medical helpers quickly put him on a stretcher and gave him medicine through a needle before taking him away to get better.

Officials said it took more than nine hours to save him. Both local and Turkish rescue workers worked together in Naypyitaw, the country’s capital, to bring him out safely.

The huge earthquake, measuring 7.7, shook Myanmar on Friday at noon. It brought down thousands of houses, broke roads, and caused bridges to fall. More than 2,800 people have died, and over 4,600 have been hurt, according to reports. But local people say the real number could be much higher.

The earthquake was so strong that it even shook Thailand. In Bangkok, a tall building that was being built collapsed. By Wednesday, one more body was found, making the total deaths there 22. Another 34 people were hurt, mostly workers at the building site.

Myanmar was already struggling because of a long war inside the country. Many people had lost their homes before this earthquake. More than 3 million people had no safe place to stay, and nearly 20 million needed help, according to aid groups.

A strong armed group, which has taken control of large areas from the country’s rulers, said on Tuesday that it would stop fighting for one month so that people could get help. A different opposition group had also already asked its fighters to stop attacking.

But fighting has not stopped completely. On Tuesday night, a group of vehicles carrying help from the Chinese Red Cross was attacked in Shan state. A local armed group said that Myanmar’s army shot at the vehicles, even though they had told the army about their route in advance.

Myanmar’s army denied this. They said the vehicles had not informed them and that soldiers only fired warning shots because the convoy did not stop at a checkpoint.

China, which has strong business links with Myanmar and sells weapons to its army, did not directly talk about the attack. A spokesperson for China said that the help supplies had safely arrived in Myanmar and were on the way to Mandalay.

A United Nations expert said that the fighting in Myanmar must stop so that help can reach the people. “The focus must be on saving lives, not taking them,” he said.

Many countries are now sending help to Myanmar.

On Wednesday, Australia said it would send another $4.5 million in help, adding to the $1.25 million it had already promised. India also sent rescue teams, flew in supplies, and sent two Navy ships.

Other countries have sent rescue workers, including China, Russia, and the United Arab Emirates. China sent 270 people, Russia sent 212, and the UAE sent 122 rescue workers.

The United States sent a small team to see how they can help. But because the U.S. has cut its foreign aid budget, it has limited resources. Washington has promised $2 million in emergency help.

Many parts of Myanmar are still without power or phone service, making it hard to know the full damage. The worst-hit areas include Mandalay, the country’s second-largest city, and Naypyitaw, the capital, which is about 270 kilometers (165 miles) north of Mandalay.

Some news is now coming in from other areas. In Singu township, 65 kilometers (40 miles) north of Mandalay, 27 gold miners died when their mine collapsed during the earthquake. In the Inle Lake region, many people were killed when their wooden houses, built on stilts in the water, fell down, according to reports.