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Myanmar quake toll passes 1,600 as people dig for survivors with bare hands
The number of people known to have died following the devastating earthquake in Myanmar has risen to more than 1,600, with people in some areas telling the BBC they had been left to dig through rubble for their loved ones with their bare hands.
An acute lack of equipment, patchy communication networks and wrecked roads and bridges were also hampering the search for survivors.
The quake has flattened much of Mandalay, the country’s second-largest city. There was applause when rescuers pulled a woman alive from the wreckage of a 12-storey apartment block some 30 hours after it collapsed, but the Red Cross says more than 90 people may still be trapped there.
In a nearby township, rescue workers found the bodies of 12 preschool children and a teacher under a building housing a kindergarten.
Cracks and surface distortions to the main highway between the biggest city Yangon, the capital Nay Pyi Taw and Mandalay had caused severe transport disruptions, UN humanitarian agency OCHA said.
There were also shortages of medical supplies including trauma kits, blood bags, anesthetics, essential medicines and tents for health workers, it said.
Although rescue teams have been at work since yesterday and international aid has begun to enter the country, help is yet to reach the worst-hit areas and ordinary people have been trying to dig survivors out by hand.
Widely shared footage shows two men moving rubble to pry out a young woman trapped between two concrete slabs.
The BBC has spoken to locals who said that people were screaming for help from under the debris.
Elsewhere, other rescue workers have been listening out for signs of life. ”We can only rescue people when we hear them,” one said.
Earlier on Saturday, a rescue team in the Sintkai township in Mandalay’s Kyaukse district pulled out a number of people trapped in the debris of a private school. Six of them – five females and one male – had died by the time the rescue teams arrived. Among the victims were students, teachers and school staff.
A lack of equipment is greatly slowing down the rescues, a worker told BBC Burmese: “We are making do with the equipment we have. We have been trying for hours to pull out a girl trapped under the collapsed school.”
Another worker in Mandalay told a BBC reporter in Yangon that communication had been near impossible.
“The main thing is that we don’t have internet lines, we don’t have phone lines, so it’s very difficult to connect with each other. The rescue team has arrived. But we don’t know where it will go, because the phone lines are down.”
A Mandalay resident said people were doing their best in the chaotic circumstances.
“There is no coordination in the rescue efforts, no one to lead them, or tell them what to do. Locals have had to fend for themselves. If they find dead bodies in the debris, they don’t even know where to send the bodies; hospitals are overwhelmed and unable to cope,” the resident said.
The junta has put the number of damaged buildings in the Mandalay region, the epicentre of the earthquake, at more than 1,500. Power outages have exacerbated the situation, and according to officials restoring power could take days.
Mandalay airport is not functional as the runways were damaged during the earthquake. The military council said that it had been working to resume operations and a temporary hospital, medical relief camp and shelter have been set up there.
Less than 25km (15 miles) from Mandalay in Sagaing, the older of two bridges connecting the regions has completely collapsed and the newer one has developed cracks, cutting off access for rescue teams.
“Right now, there are not enough people even for emergency rescue. We can’t pick up bodies, there are so many people trapped. We can’t cross either bridge, so we are all trapped in the rubble. Please help emergency rescuers come and rescue us,” a local resident told BBC Burmese.
The recently constructed capital Nay Pyi Taw, where the military junta is headquartered, has been hit by aftershocks and small tremors. The city has seen extensive damage with high numbers of casualties, collapsed buildings and buckled roads.
Meanwhile, even while the junta has made a rare international appeal for aid, it has continued air strikes and drone attacks against the ethnic armies and armed groups it has been fighting in the country’s four-year civil war.
BBC Burmese confirmed that seven people were killed in an air strike in Naungcho in northern Shan state. This strike took place around 15:30 local time, less than three hours after the quake struck.
Pro-democracy rebel groups fighting to remove the military from power have reported aerial bombings in Chang-U township in the central Sagaing region, the epicentre of the quake. There are also reports of airstrikes in regions near the Thai border.
The UN’s special rapporteur on human rights in Myanmar, Tom Andrews, urged the junta to cease bombing raids.
“The problem is that you still have military operations going on right now… Military strikes by the military junta,” he told the BBC.
“I’m calling upon the junta to just stop, stop any of its military operations. This is completely outrageous and unacceptable.”
[BBC]
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Heat Index at Caution Level in the Western, Sabaragamuwa and North-western provinces and Monaragala district.
Warm Weather Advisory issued by the Natural Hazards Early Warning Centre of the Department of Meteorology at 3.30 p.m. on 09 March 2026, valid for 10 March 2026.
The public are warned that the Heat index, the temperature felt on the human body is likely to increase up to ‘Caution level’ at some places in Western, Sabaragamuwa and North-western provinces and in Monaragala district.
The Heat Index Forecast is calculated by using relative humidity and maximum temperature and this is the condition that is felt on your body.
This is not the forecast of maximum temperature. It is generated by the Department of Meteorology for the next day period and prepared by using global numerical weather prediction model data.
Effect of the heat index on the human body is mentioned in the above table and it is prepared on the advice of the Ministry of Health and Indigenous Medical Services.
ACTION REQUIRED
Job sites: Stay hydrated and takes breaks in the shade as often as possible.
Indoors: Check up on the elderly and the sick.
Vehicles: Never leave children unattended.
Outdoors: Limit strenuous outdoor activities, find shade and stay hydrated.
Dress: Wear lightweight and white or light-colored clothing.
Note:
In addition, please refer to advisories issued by the Disaster Preparedness & Response Division, Ministry of Health in this regard as well. For further clarifications please contact 011-7446491.
Five members of the Iranian women’s football team have been granted humanitarian visas in Australia after their elimination in the Asian Cup, the government in Canberra says.
Immigration Minister Tony Burke said the women “were moved to a safe location” by Australian police. He said other squad members had been told they are welcome to stay in the country.
The women had been due to fly home, but supporters had raised fears for their safety after the team declined to sing the national anthem ahead of their match against South Korea last week.
This prompted criticism in Iran, with one conservative commentator accusing the team of being “wartime traitors” and pushing for harsh punishment.
Australia’s humanitarian visa programme grants permanent protection to refugees and people in humanitarian need. Visa holders can live, work and study in the country.
Speaking early on Tuesday, Burke said the five players were happy for their names to be confirmed as Fatemeh Pasandideh, Zahra Ghanbari, Zahra Sarbali, Atefeh Ramazanzadeh, and Mona Hamoudi.
“They want to be clear they are not political activists. They are athletes who want to be safe,” he said, adding that talks had been going on over several days.
He said that on Monday “it was made clear that there were five women who wanted to be able to stay in Australia”.
The group left their hotel the same day and were moved to a safe location by police.
Burke said he met the women at that location and then signed off for their applications to go onto humanitarian visas – a process completed at about 01:30 local time on Tuesday (15:30 GMT Monday).
“I say to the other members of the team, the same opportunity is there. Australia has taken the Iranian women’s soccer team into our hearts. These women are tremendously popular in Australia.
“But we realise they are in a terribly difficult situation with the decisions that they’re making,” the Australian minister said.
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese later confirmed that the five players had been given humanitarian visas.
On Sunday evening, hundreds of supporters surrounded the Iranian Lionesses’ coach as it left the stadium on the Gold Coast, with chants of “save our girls”.
On Monday, the BBC witnessed dramatic scenes inside the team’s five- star hotel when several players left the lobby in a group after speaking to activists.
Shortly after they departed, a second group – including a translator and the head coach – burst in looking panicked, and rushed through the hotel before returning to their rooms.
A family member of one of the women – speaking on condition of anonymity – told Australian news site ABC they were being protected by police, and intended to claim asylum.
“I want to kiss the hands of everyone who helped,” the unnamed relative told ABC.
On Monday, US President Donald Trump took to his Truth Social platform to demand action.
Australia should “give asylum” to the women, Trump said in his initial post. “The US will take them if you won’t,” he added.
Around an hour later, Trump posted again to say he had spoken to Australia’s Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and “five have already been taken care of, and the rest are on their way”.
Trump’s post appeared to also suggest some of the team feared for the safety of their families back in Iran and so felt they must “go back”.
“In any event, the Prime Minister is doing a very good job having to do with this rather delicate situation. God bless Australia!” Trump said.
The Trump administration put all asylum decisions on hold at the end of last year, and has stopped issuing immigrant visas for citizens from dozens of countries including Iran. It has said the administration wants to bring “an end to the abuse” of the system.
Last year, two groups of Iranians – including people whose asylum applications had been unsuccessful – were deported from the US back to Iran. The groups reportedly included members of the LGBT community,who face severe legal and social repercussions in Iran.
[BBC]
The Iranian warship Iris Dena was given permission by India to dock three days before it was torpedoed by a US submarine, India has said.
Foreign Minister S Jaishankar said Iran had sought permission for three of its ships to dock at Indian ports on 28 February – the day the US and Israel began a war on Iran – and permission was granted by India on 1 March.
The ships’ movements between 1 and 4 March are not clear and nor is why only one of them made it to India.
The sinking of the Iris Dena, with 130 sailors on board, in international waters off Sri Lanka’s southern coast on 4 March marked a dramatic widening of the war – and raised questions about India’s authority in its backyard.
It was the first military strike outside the Middle East since the US and Israel launched their war on Iran. President Donald Trump has said destroying Iran’s navy is one aim of the assault.
The three Iranian ships – Iris Dena, Iris Bushehr and Iris Lavan – had all participated in a military exercise hosted by India between 15 and 25 February in the coastal city of Visakhapatnam.
They left Indian waters on 25 February and were likely to have been in international waters on 28 February – when the US and Israel began attacking Iran.
“The Iranian side had requested permission on 28 February for three ships in the region to dock at our ports. This was accorded on 1 March,” Jaishankar told parliament on Monday. “Iris Lavan actually docked on 4 March in Kochi. The crew is currently in Indian naval facilities. We believe that this was the right thing to do.”
On 4 March, Iris Dena sank after being hit by a torpedo fired from a US submarine, killing at least 87 of its crew members.
According to the Indian Navy, the Iris Dena was operating about 20 nautical miles – roughly 23 miles (37km) – west of Galle in waters that fall under Sri Lanka’s designated search-and-rescue zone on the day it was struck.
The US tracks vessels across the world’s oceans, and a quarter of its submarine fleet of 65-70 is at sea at any given time, according to analysts.
Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said last week the US had “perpetrated an atrocity at sea, 2,000 miles away from Iran’s shores” and that the warship was “struck in international waters without warning.”
Later, Sri Lanka said it had provided sanctuary for Iris Bushehr on 5 March, a day after it requested for docking following an engine malfunction.
Eventually, India also confirmed that Iris Lavan was docked in its southern city Kochi.
The BBC has written to the Iranian embassy in India and India’s external affairs ministry seeking clarification on the movements of the three Iranian naval vessels after Delhi granted them permission to dock.
US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth has touted the attack on Iris Dena as an example of America’s military prowess, claiming it was “the first sinking of an enemy ship by a torpedo since World War Two”.
While it is the first time since 1945 that an American submarine has sunk an enemy ship this way, the UK and Pakistan have both sunk vessels using torpedoes since then.
The Iris Dena was one of about 20 Iranian navy vessels destroyed since Israel and the US launched co-ordinated strikes on Iran.
[BBC]
Heat Index at Caution Level in the Western, Sabaragamuwa and North-western provinces and Monaragala district.
Showers likely in the Northern province and in Trincomalee and Anuradhapura districts
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Power sector restructuring completed; new state-owned entities established: Govt.
Pilleyan held over Eastern Uni VC’s 2006 disappearance seeks SC intervention: Case to be taken up on 18 March
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