This content was originally published by Radio Free Asia and is reprinted with permission.
Junta attacks continued to bag rescue workers and aid companies trying to help the survivors of last week’s large Myanmar disaster.
Adding to the humanitarian crisis caused by a civil war, residents displaced by Friday’s scale 7.7 collapse that killed more than 2, 700 people are then forced to sanctuary from explosives as effectively.
” From the time of the disaster, March 28, to monday, we’ve found that the government has launched underwater problems eight days. Even now in the Magway place, we’ve seen them bombing again”, said Moe Htet Nay, an assistant at Nyan Lin Thit Research Group, which monitors the issue.
Junta forces have bombed Shan country’s Nawnghkio town three times, Kachin country’s Bhamo town double, Phyu town in Bago area, Pauk township in Magway region and Demoso township in Kayah state when each, he said Tuesday.
Nine people were killed in the post-quake problems, with seven wounded global, according to groups fighting the military authorities that seized power from elected residents in a February 2021 revolution.
Junta head Min Aung Hlaing said Tuesday the disaster death burden has risen to 2, 719 and is likely to reach 3, 000. Some 4, 521 people were injured and 441 missing, he said on tv.
Friday’s earthquake was centered near Mandalay in the middle of the land and caused significant damage in Sagaing, Magway, Bago, Naypyidaw, Shan position and southeast Taungoo. It also rocked Thailand and other elements of the area.
The coup declared a state of emergency in all the affected parts. The ousted National Unity Government and Myanmar people said the order has hampered recovery work due to a 10 p. m. punishment in some areas where human teams are searching for survivors.
Human Rights Watch , on Tuesday called on the junta to “allow fast unrestricted access to humanitarian assistance for disaster survivors”.
It said Myanmar’s military leaders should raise limitations including lockdowns, register of rescue workers and internet disruptions that are slowing the emergency response.
” Myanmar’s military junta still invokes fear, even in the wake of a horrific natural disaster that killed and injured thousands”, said Bryony Lau, the group’s deputy Asia director.
” The junta needs to break from its appalling past practice and ensure that humanitarian aid quickly reaches those whose lives are at risk in earthquake-affected areas”, she said.
Citing a rescue worker in the Sagaing region, Human Rights Watch said the number of bodies for volunteers to cremate is piling up.
” Even if they cremate a body every three minutes, they would have to work around the clock”, the rescuer said, according to HRW.
” Myanmar’s junta cannot be trusted to respond to a disaster of this scale”, said Lau. ” Concerned governments and international agencies need to press the junta to allow full and immediate access to survivors wherever they are”.
Hopes fade at site of Bangkok building collapse
At the site of a Bangkok office tower toppled by the quake, hopes were fading for the dozens of construction workers – many of them from Myanmar – buried in the rubble of the government building.
A scan of the site indicated more than 70 people still beneath the concrete and tangled steel wreckage of the state audit office near the famous Chatuchak market, Bangkok Deputy Governor Tavida Kamolvej said Tuesday. The confirmed death toll from the office collapse is 13.
Thai Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra has ordered an investigation into the building collapse, with some findings expected later this week. She also ordered eight government ministries to remedy their slow response to the quake’s aftermath.
Bangkok governor Chadchart Sittiput ordered inspections of all high-rise buildings in the capital to allay the concerns of greater Bangkok’s 17 million residents.
The governor on Monday rescinded the administration’s designation of the city as a disaster zone, which had enhanced the powers of the emergency services.
” The impact on the public, the damage to basic infrastructure, transportation routes, and assistance in various sectors have been continuously addressed”, he said in a statement.
” Additionally, the living conditions of most residents have returned to normal”.
Amid reports of mass cancellations of hotel bookings, tourism minister Sorawong Thienthong held an emergency meeting with industry representatives and the tourism council.
He said no visitors had been harmed, hotels had passed safety inspections and tourist police were monitoring key sites.
