Regime media reported on Saturday that the death toll in Myanmar from a 7.7 magnitude earthquake on March 28 is at least 808 with an additional 1,700 injured nationwide. The regime requested emergency international assistance on Friday.
“I have learned that the earthquake was very strong with many aftershocks. The most affected [areas] are Naypyidaw, Sagaing, and Mandalay,” said regime leader Min Aung Hlaing during a televised speech on the evening of March 28.
At least 96 bodies were recovered after the earthquake in Naypyidaw, 18 in Sagaing Region, and 694 in Mandalay Region, according to the regime. Among those injured, 132 are from Naypyidaw, 300 are from Sagaing, and 1,670 are from Mandalay.
“The death toll and injuries are expected to rise,” added Min Aung Hlaing, who seized power in a 2021 military coup by ousting the democratically-elected National League for Democracy (NLD) party and arresting State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi and President Win Myint.
Both of Myanmar’s elected leaders have been held in prison ever since by Min Aung Hlaing’s regime. Over 6,000 civilians have been killed by pro-regime forces since 2021.
In Myanmar’s second largest city of Mandalay, home to over one million people, homes, schools, and religious buildings collapsed during the earthquake. Many roads have been blocked by the debris.
“The damage is severe—nearly half the city is affected, with about 75 percent of buildings in some areas destroyed,” a Mandalay resident told DVB.
The regime leader had visited those injured by the earthquake at a hospital in Naypyidaw on Friday. Regime media reported that he was in Mandalay on Saturday.
The civilian-led National Unity Government (NUG), an alternative to the regime in Naypyidaw, issued a statement calling for emergency international aid.
The NUG pledged to launch immediate relief efforts to assist earthquake survivors by providing cross-border humanitarian aid.
