Authorities in Myanmar observed a minute of silence to honor the victims of a devastating earthquake that claimed the lives of over 2,700 people, including 50 children at a preschool near Mandalay.
The moment of remembrance, held on Tuesday, came as aid organizations reported that communities in the hardest-hit areas were struggling to secure food, water, and shelter, according to Al Jazeera.
The magnitude 7.7 earthquake, which struck around midday on Friday, was the strongest to hit the Southeast Asian country in more than a century, causing the collapse of both ancient pagodas and modern buildings.
Myanmar's military leader, Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, stated in a televised address on Tuesday that the death toll had reached 2,719 and could exceed 3,000. He also confirmed that 4,521 people were injured and 441 were still missing.
At least 20 people were also reported dead in neighboring Thailand.
In hard-hit Mandalay in central Myanmar, sirens rang out at 12:51pm, the precise time that the quake struck, calling residents to a standstill. Outside the Sky Villa apartment complex, one of the city바카라s worst-hit disaster sites, rescue workers stopped and lined up with hands clasped behind their backs to pay their respects.
Officials and attendants stood behind a cordon, watching relatives further back, as the sirens wailed and a Myanmar flag flew at half-mast from a bamboo pole tied to a rescue tent.
Aid Denied
Meanwhile, Amnesty International said the military needed to allow aid to reach areas of the country not under its control.
바카라Myanmar바카라s military has a longstanding practice of denying aid to areas where groups who resist it are active,바카라 Amnesty바카라s Myanmar researcher Joe Freeman said to Al Jazeera.
바카라It must immediately allow unimpeded access to all humanitarian organisations and remove administrative barriers delaying needs assessments.바카라
The United Nations humanitarian agency (OCHA) said the victims of the earthquake included 50 children and two teachers, who were killed when their preschool collapsed near Mandalay.
The state-run Global New Light of Myanmar also reported that some 500 Muslims were killed in the country as the quake struck when worshippers were gathered in mosques to offer Friday prayers.
In Bangkok, rescuers were still scouring the ruins of an unfinished skyscraper that collapsed for any signs of life, but aware that as four days had passed since the earthquake, the odds of finding survivors had lengthened.
