Myanmar Quake Death Toll Tops 2,700
TEHRAN (Tasnim) - Authorities in Myanmar have held a minute of silence to honor the victims of a catastrophic earthquake that killed more than 2,700 people, including 50 children at one preschool near the city of Mandalay.
The moment of remembrance on Tuesday came as aid groups said communities in the hardest-hit areas were struggling to find food, water and shelter.
The magnitude 7.7 earthquake, which hit around lunchtime on Friday, was the strongest to hit the Southeast Asian country in more than a century, toppling ancient pagodas and modern buildings alike.
Myanmar’s military leader Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, in a televised address on Tuesday, said the death toll had reached 2,719 and could even exceed 3,000.
He said 4,521 people were injured, and 441 were missing.
At least 20 people were also killed in neighboring Thailand.
The civil war in Myanmar, where the military seized power in a coup in 2021, has also complicated efforts to reach those injured and made homeless by the powerful tremor, Al Jazeera reported.
