Myanmar to mark minute of silence on Tuesday as earthquake toll passes 2,000, over 3,900 injured, 270 missing
Public Lokpal
April 01, 2025
Myanmar to mark minute of silence on Tuesday as earthquake toll passes 2,000, over 3,900 injured, 270 missing
MANDALAY: Myanmar will mark a minute of silence Tuesday in tribute to victims of the country's devastating earthquake that has killed more than 2,000 people, as hopes dim of finding more survivors in the rubble of ruined buildings.
National flags will fly at half-mast until April 6 "in sympathy for the loss of life and damages" from Friday's massive quake, the ruling junta said in a statement Monday.
As part of a week of national mourning, the junta announced the minute's silence to begin Tuesday at 12:51:02 pm -- the precise time the 7.7-magnitude quake struck.
People should stop where they are to pay respect to the victims, the junta said, while media should halt broadcasting and show mourning symbols, and prayers will be offered at temples and pagodas.
The announcement came as the tempo and urgency of rescue efforts wound down in Mandalay, one of the worst-affected cities and the country's second-largest, with more than 1.7 million inhabitants.
"The situation is so dire that it's hard to express what is happening," said Aung Myint Hussein, chief administrator of Mandalay's Sajja North mosque.
People prepared to camp out in the streets across Mandalay for a fourth successive night, either unable to return to ruined homes or nervous about repeated aftershocks that have rattled the city.
Some have tents but many, including young children, have been bedding down on blankets in the middle of roads, trying to keep as far from buildings as possible.
The junta said Monday that 2,056 have now been confirmed dead, with more than 3,900 people injured and 270 still missing, but the toll is expected to rise significantly.
Three Chinese nationals are among the dead, China's state media said, along with two French people, according to the foreign ministry in Paris.
At least 19 deaths have been confirmed hundreds of kilometres away in Thailand's capital Bangkok, where the force of the quake caused a 30-storey tower block under construction to collapse.
Diggers continue to clear the vast pile of rubble at the site, where a dozen deaths have been confirmed and at least 75 people are still unaccounted for. Officials say they have not given up hope of finding more survivors.
AFP