Myanmar, Thailand Earthquake LIVE: India sends tonnes of relief material as death toll crosses 1,000

A woman was rescued from the rubble of a collapsed apartment building in Mandalay on Saturday, 30 hours after a powerful earthquake struck Myanmar, AFP journalists reported.

India is sending a contingent of 80 NDRF personnel for aiding relief and rescue work in earthquake-hit Myanmar, officials said. 

"A team of 80 NDRF (National Disaster Response Force) personnel are being sent to Myanmar aboard two IAF (Indian Air Force) sorties from Hindon in Ghaziabad. Both teams are expected to reach Nay Pyi Taw by Saturday evening," an official told PTI.

The deadly earthquake toppled the air traffic control tower at Naypyitaw International Airport, as shown by satellite photos from Planet Labs PBC analysed by The Associated Press. 

India's External Affairs Ministry on Saturday announced that Indian Navy Ships INS Satpura and INS Savitri have headed to Yangon port in Myanmar carrying aid under Operation Brahma.

The ships are carrying 40 tonnes of humanitarian aid for quake-hit nation.

EAM Jaishankar said, "Operation Brahma Indian Navy ships INS Satpura & INS Savitri are carrying 40 tonnes of humanitarian aid and headed for the port of Yangon."

A Red Cross official told AFP on Saturday that over 90 people might be trapped in the rubble of a collapsed apartment block in Mandalay after a powerful earthquake. Rescuers are working to reach the victims.

Myanmar’s military has opened a relief camp and hospital at Mandalay Airport, though its capacity is unclear, BBC reported. The airport remains closed due to runway damage, but repairs are underway. Meanwhile, Airports of Thailand confirmed that major airports, including Bangkok and Chiang Mai, are operating normally.

China will provide Myanmar with $13.77 million worth of aid after an earthquake that killed more than 1,000 people, its embassy said on Saturday (March 29). 

China, as per a Reuters report, has dispatched rescue teams to earthquake-stricken Myanmar.

Terrifying footage from China's Yunan Province shows the moment when the massive 7.7 magnitude earthquake on Friday (Mar 28) caused a hotel rooftop infinity pool to spill down, with a massive wave striking dozens of people as they ran for their lives.

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A woman gave birth to a baby on the streets of Bangkok after patients from a hospital had to be evacuated due to the massive earthquake that struck Myanmar. The mother was on a stretcher as the hospital staff surrounded her as she delivered the baby.

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In Thailand's Bangkok, hundreds of kilometres away from its epicentre, the earthquake killed at least 10 people, reported officials. However, with communications severely disrupted by the natural disaster, authorities fear the actual number of casualties could be much higher. 

China's President Xi Jinping sent a message of condolence to Myanmar's junta chief on Saturday after a devastating earthquake Friday killed at least 1,000 people there and in neighbouring Thailand, state media said.

Xi "expressed deep sorrow" over the destruction and said China was "willing to provide Myanmar the needed assistance to support people in affected areas" in his message of condolence to junta chief Min Aung Hlaing, according to state broadcaster CCTV.

The death toll from a massive earthquake in Myanmar has passed 1,000, the junta said on Saturday (Mar 29), with more than 2,000 injured.

A statement from the junta's information team said 1,002 people are known to have died in Friday's shallow 7.7-magnitude quake, with 2,376 injured.