United News of Bangladesh

Bangladesh Embassy in Yangon on Saturday handed over another consignment of humanitarian relief material from the Government of Bangladesh to support those affected by the recent earthquake in Myanmar. Bangladesh said it remains committed to supporting neighbours in their time of need. Bangladesh will continue to promote friendship, mutual respect and understanding, and humanitarian cooperation with Myanmar. These essential supplies—including tents, food packets, dry rations, drinking water, blankets, clothing, hygiene products, and other essentials —were transported to Yangon by the Bangladesh Navy Ship Somudra Avijan, reflecting our strong commitment to stand beside our neighbours in times of need. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Bangladesh, the Armed Forces Division and the Bangladesh Navy coordinated the transport and delivery of the assistance. In this third consignment, 120 metric tonnes of relief material have been delivered, said the Bangladesh Embassy in Yangon. Bangladesh seeks aerospace partner, eyes win-win cooperation with Turkey In total, 151 metric tonnes of relief materials have been provided to the people of Myanmar in three consignments since the earthquake struck on 28 March. Additionally, a 55-member Search and Rescue (SAR) and medical team was deployed in Naypyitaw to support the rescue and recovery efforts. The Chief Minister of Yangon Region received the relief material at a ceremony at Yangon seaport. A donation of 800 boxes of hygiene products by the Bangladesh Red Crescent Society has also been handed over to the representative of the Myanmar Red Cross Society.

Myanmar has experienced 112 aftershocks ranging from magnitudes of 2.8 to 7.5 as of Thursday, according to the country's Department of Meteorology and Hydrology. The aftershocks followed a devastating 7.9-magnitude earthquake that struck the country on March 28. The death toll from the devastating earthquake  has climbed to 3,645, with 5,017 people injured and 148 still missing, according to a statement from the State Administration Council's Information Team.   

A 63-year-old woman was rescued from the debris of a collapsed building in Myanmar’s capital on Tuesday, but hopes of finding more survivors are diminishing. The powerful earthquake, which struck on Friday with a magnitude of 7.7, has so far claimed more than 2,700 lives, further deepening the country’s ongoing humanitarian crisis amid a civil war. According to Myanmar’s fire department in Naypyitaw, the woman was pulled out alive 91 hours after being trapped under the rubble. Experts caution that survival chances drop significantly after 72 hours. Death Toll Expected to Climb FurtherMyanmar's military leader, Senior Gen. Min Aung Hlaing, announced at a relief donation forum in Naypyitaw that the earthquake has killed at least 2,719 people, with 4,521 others injured and 441 still unaccounted for, as reported by state broadcaster MRTV. He noted that this was the second most powerful earthquake recorded in Myanmar’s history, following an 8.0-magnitude quake in May 1912 near Mandalay. The full extent of the devastation remains unclear due to damaged infrastructure, power outages, and communication failures across affected areas. So far, most reports have emerged from Mandalay, Myanmar’s second-largest city, and the capital Naypyitaw, both near the quake’s epicenter. "The scale of need is immense and increasing by the hour," said Julia Rees, UNICEF's deputy representative for Myanmar. Myanmar’s fire department has reported that 403 people have been rescued in Mandalay, while 259 bodies have been recovered. Among the casualties, 50 Buddhist monks were killed when their monastery collapsed during a religious exam, with an estimated 150 others still buried beneath the debris. Bangladesh sends fire service rescue team to Myanmar Widespread Structural DamageThe World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that over 10,000 buildings have either collapsed or sustained severe damage. The quake also affected neighboring Thailand, where a high-rise under construction collapsed, killing 22 people and injuring 34 others in Bangkok. Rescue teams in Thailand recovered three bodies from the site between Monday and Tuesday, while dozens remain missing. In Myanmar, rescue efforts momentarily halted at noon on Tuesday for a minute of silence in remembrance of the victims. Slow Response and Relief ChallengesForeign aid and rescue teams have arrived, but operations have been hindered by the lack of heavy equipment in many areas. In Naypyitaw, workers were seen manually passing bricks and debris as they searched for survivors in a collapsed building. Myanmar's state-run Global New Light of Myanmar reported that a Chinese rescue team managed to save four individuals on Monday, including a pregnant woman and a five-year-old child who had been trapped for over 60 hours. Two teenagers also escaped the rubble using their cellphone flashlights, helping rescuers locate their grandmother and sibling. International rescue teams from Russia, China, India, the UAE, and Southeast Asian nations are on the ground. Meanwhile, a small U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) disaster assessment team arrived on Tuesday after delays in obtaining visas. The U.S. had earlier announced $2 million in emergency aid. Growing Health Risks and Aid ConcernsMultiple countries have pledged millions of dollars in aid to Myanmar and humanitarian organizations. The earthquake has exacerbated an already dire situation, with over 3 million people displaced by the country’s civil war and nearly 20 million in need of humanitarian assistance, according to the U.N. Experts warn of potential disease outbreaks due to poor sanitation and overcrowded shelters. The U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reported increased risks of respiratory infections, skin diseases, and vector-borne illnesses like dengue fever. Looming Monsoon Season and Civil War Complications Bangladesh's 55-member rescue, medical team arrives in quake-hit MyanmarShelter shortages remain critical, with many people sleeping outdoors due to destroyed homes or fear of aftershocks. The impending monsoon season further complicates the situation. Myanmar’s ongoing civil conflict also hampers relief efforts. The military government, which seized power in 2021, continues to face armed resistance. While the opposition National Unity Government (NUG) has declared a unilateral ceasefire, military attacks persist, and reports indicate some anti-junta forces remain active. The NUG has urged the international community to ensure direct delivery of aid to victims, warning against possible interference by the ruling military. Meanwhile, the Three Brotherhood Alliance, a coalition of three ethnic armed groups, has also announced a month-long ceasefire. Despite these calls, Min Aung Hlaing stated in his Tuesday speech that military operations would continue against groups conducting military training, viewing such activities as acts of hostility. It remains uncertain whether the military is obstructing aid deliveries. Historically, Myanmar’s military government restricted foreign aid following Cyclone Nargis in 2008, which resulted in over 100,000 deaths. However, Min Aung Hlaing emphasized that the country is open to international assistance this time. Bangladesh sends 2nd consignment of emergency aid to Myanmar U.N. human rights monitor Tom Andrews underscored the urgency of halting military operations to facilitate relief efforts. "The priority in Myanmar should be saving lives, not taking them," he said on X (formerly Twitter). Source: With input from agency 

Myanmar’s ruling military said Saturday on state television that the confirmed death toll from a devastating 7.7 magnitude earthquake rose to 1,644, as more bodies were pulled from the rubble of the scores of buildings that collapsed when it struck near the country’s second-largest city. The new total is a sharp rise compared to the 1,002 total announced just hours earlier, underlining the difficulty of confirming casualties over a widespread region and the likelihood that the numbers will continue to grow from Friday's quake. The number of injured increased to 3,408, while the missing figure rose to 139. Rescue efforts are underway especially in the major stricken cities of Mandalay, the country's No. 2 city, and Naypyitaw, the capital. But even though teams and equipment have been flown in from other nations, they are hindered by the airports in those cities being damaged and apparently unfit to land planes. Myanmar, also known as Burma, is in the throes of a prolonged civil war, which is already responsible for a humanitarian crisis. It makes movement around the country both difficult and dangerous, complicating relief efforts and raising fears that the death toll could still rise precipitously. The earthquake struck midday Friday with an epicenter not far from Mandalay, followed by several aftershocks, including one measuring 6.4. It sent buildings in many areas toppling to the ground, buckled roads, caused bridges to collapse and burst a dam. In Naypyidaw, crews worked Saturday to repair damaged roads, while electricity, phone and internet services remained down for most of the city. The earthquake brought down many buildings, including multiple units that housed government civil servants, but that section of the city was blocked off by authorities on Saturday. More damage in Thailand In neighboring Thailand, the quake rocked the greater Bangkok area, home to around 17 million people, and other parts of the country. Bangkok city authorities said the number of confirmed dead was now 10, nine at the site of the collapsed high-rise under construction near the capital’s popular Chatuchak market, while 78 people were still unaccounted for. Rescue efforrs were continuing in the hope of finding additional survivors. On Saturday, more heavy equipment was brought in to move the tons of rubble, but hope was fading among friends and family members of the missing that they would be found alive. “I was praying that that they had survived but when I got here and saw the ruin — where could they be? In which corner? Are they still alive? I am still praying that all six are alive,” said 45-year-old Naruemol Thonglek, sobbing as she awaited news about her partner, who is from Myanmar, and five friends who worked at the site. Waenphet Panta said she hadn't heard from her daughter Kanlayanee since a phone call about an hour before the quake. A friend told her Kanlayanee had been working high on the building on Friday. “I am praying my daughter is safe, that she has survived and that she’s at the hospital,” she said, Kanlayanee’s father sitting beside her. Thai authorities said that the quake and aftershocks were felt in most of the country's provinces. Many places in the north reported damage to residential buildings, hospitals and temples, including in Chiang Mai, but the only casualties were reported in Bangkok Myanmar sits on a major fault line Earthquakes are rare in Bangkok, but relatively common in Myanmar. The country sits on the Sagaing Fault, a major north-south fault that separates the India plate and the Sunda plate. Brian Baptie, a seismologist with the British Geological Survey, said that the quake caused intense ground shaking in an area where most of the population lives in buildings constructed of timber and unreinforced brick masonry. “When you have a large earthquake in an area where there are over a million people, many of them living in vulnerable buildings, the consequences can often be disastrous," he said in a statement. A natural disaster on top of a civil war Myanmar’s government said that blood was in high demand in the hardest-hit areas. In a country where prior governments sometimes have been slow to accept foreign aid, Min Aung Hlaing said that Myanmar was ready to accept outside assistance. Myanmar’s military seized power from the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi in February 2021, and is now involved in a civil war with long-established militias and newly formed pro-democracy ones. Military forces continued their attacks even after the quake, with three airstrikes in northern Kayin state, also called Karenni state, and southern Shan — both of which border Mandalay state, said Dave Eubank, a former U.S. Army Special Forces soldier who founded the Free Burma Rangers, a humanitarian aid organization that has provided assistance to both combatants and civilians in Myanmar since the 1990s. Eubank told The Associated Press that in the area he was operating in, most villages have already been destroyed by the military so the earthquake had little impact. “People are in the jungle and I was out in the jungle when the earthquake hit — it was powerful, but the trees just moved, that was it for us, so we haven't had a direct impact other than that the Burma army keeps attacking, even after the quake,” he said. In northern Shan, an airstrike on a rebel-controlled village just minutes after the earthquake killed seven militia members and damaged five buildings, including a school, Mai Rukow, editor of a Shan-based online media Shwe Phee Myay News Agency, told the AP. Government forces have lost control of much of Myanmar, and many places are incredibly dangerous or simply impossible for aid groups to reach. More than 3 million people have been displaced by the fighting and nearly 20 million are in need, according to the United Nations. “Although a full picture of the damage is still emerging, most of us have never seen such destruction," said Haider Yaqub, Myanmar country director for the NGO Plan International, from Yangon. Control tower at Myanmar airport collapsed Satellite photos from Planet Labs PBC analyzed by the AP show the earthquake toppled the air traffic control tower at Naypyitaw International Airport as if sheered from its base. Debris lay scattered from the top of the tower, which controlled all air traffic in the capital of Myanmar, the photos showed on Saturday. It wasn’t immediately clear if there had been any injuries in the collapse, though the tower would have had staff inside of it at the time of the earthquake Friday. Rescue groups head to Myanmar China and Russia are the largest suppliers of weapons to Myanmar's military, and were among the first to step in with humanitarian aid. China said it has sent more than 135 rescue personnel and experts along with supplies like medical kits and generators, and pledged around $13.8 million in emergency aid. Hong Kong sent a 51-member team to Myanmar. Russia’s Emergencies Ministry said it had flown in 120 rescuers and supplies, and the country's Health Ministry said Moscow had sent a medical team to Myanmar. Other countries like India and South Korea are sending help, and the U.N. allocated $5 million to start relief efforts. U.S. President Donald Trump said Friday that Washington was going to help with the response, but some experts were concerned about this effort given his administration’s deep cuts in foreign assistance.