Hanoi (VNA) ♎– International rescue teams and aid continue to arrive in Myanmar's Mandalay as the search for survivors enters its third day.
On March 31, Indonesia deployed a hospital ship, three Hercules aircraft, and four helicopters with search-and-rescue personnel, medical teams, and logistics support.
Thailand sent 55 military personnel, including 18 doctors and a search-and-rescue team, along with aid on March 30. This is part of a 1,000-troop deployment, with further flights scheduled for April 2 and 5.
Also on March 30, India sent two naval ships with Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (HADR) capabilities, carrying 52 tonnes of emergency supplies, including water, food, medicine, and clothing, from the Andaman and Nicobar Islands to Yangon. These join two vessels that left a day earlier with 20 tonnes of relief materials. Indian army field hospitals have also been deployed to provide immediate medical assistance to the injured in Mandalay, the hardest-hit city.
Rescue teams save a pregnant woman who survived the earthquake in Mandalay, Myanmar. (Photo: Xinhua/VNA)
China’s first batch of emergency supplies, including tents, blankets, and first-aid kits, was dispatched from Beijing on March 31, according to the China International Development Cooperation Agency.
Rescue teams are racing against time, as over 300 people remain missing as of March 30. The quake has claimed about 1,700 lives and injured 3,400. On the morning of March 31, at least four survivors were pulled from the rubble in Mandalay and Naypyidaw.
Rescue efforts face challenges due to equipment shortages and ongoing aftershocks. Myanmar’s Department of Meteorology and Hydrology recorded 36 aftershocks, ranging from magnitude 2.8 to 7.5, as of March 31./.
A 26-member team from Vietnam’s Ministry of Public Security on March 31 morning arrived in Myanmar’s Sagaing city, beginning their search and rescue operations.
Starting from March 31, the Vietnamese forces will commence search and rescue operations in the affected areas, while relief supplies will be distributed to communities in need.
After a seven-hour journey from Yangon Airport, Vietnam’s Ministry of Public Security search and rescue team arrived in Naypyidaw, Myanmar. They met with local authorities to coordinate rescue efforts and determine key search locations. On March 31, the team reached the disaster site in Naypyidaw and immediately deployed sniffer dogs to search for victims.
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The 30-storey tower crumbled seconds after a 7.7-magnitude earthquake hit neighbouring Myanmar on March 28. The partially built high-rise, meant to house the State Audit Office (SAO), was the only building in Thailand to collapse, killing 89 people on the site, mostly construction workers.
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Indonesia is accelerating plans to increase lithium imports, particularly from Australia, in a bid to fill gaps in the electric vehicle (EV) battery supply chain and realise its ambition of becoming a global EV manufacturing hub.
