Woman Saved from Myanmar Quake Rubble as Rescue Efforts Intensify

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Rescue Efforts Underway Following Earthquake in Myanmar and Thailand

Rescue worker searching through rubble of the collapsed Great Wall Hotel in Mandalay, Myanmar, on March 31, 2025. — Reuters

Rescuers are urgently searching for survivors in Myanmar and Thailand.
The death toll has exceeded 1,700 in Myanmar, with 18 confirmed fatalities in Thailand.
Myanmar’s ongoing civil conflict is hampering earthquake relief efforts.

BANGKOK: Hope emerged on Monday as rescuers successfully freed a woman from the debris of a hotel in Myanmar. This occurred three days after a powerful earthquake claimed the lives of nearly 2,000 people, prompting urgency among search teams in both Myanmar and Thailand to locate more survivors.

The woman was rescued after being trapped for 60 hours beneath the rubble of the Great Wall Hotel in Mandalay. A collaborative effort involving Chinese, Russian, and local rescue teams led to her extraction following a five-hour operation. Reports indicate she is currently in stable condition.

Mandalay lies near the epicenter of the 7.7-magnitude quake that struck on Friday, causing widespread destruction across Myanmar and inflicting damage in neighboring Thailand.

In Bangkok, the capital of Thailand, emergency crews are using cranes and search dogs in a tense search for 76 individuals believed to be trapped under the debris of a collapsed construction site. Bangkok Governor Chadchart Sittipunt assured that efforts to find survivors would persist beyond the typical 72-hour critical window.

“The search will continue even after 72 hours. We have seen cases in Turkey where individuals trapped for a week have survived, so our efforts are not ceasing,” said Chadchart. He also mentioned that machines scanning the wreckage indicated potential signs of life and that rescue dogs were being dispatched to help locate survivors.

While Thailand’s official death toll stood at 18 as of Sunday, authorities fear it may rise without further rescues at the site of the collapse.

In Myanmar, state media reported at least 1,700 confirmed deaths. According to The Wall Street Journal, citing the military government, the death toll may have reached 2,028, though this has not been independently verified by Reuters. The United Nations has announced it is sending relief supplies to about 23,000 survivors affected by the earthquake in central Myanmar.

“Our teams in Mandalay are ramping up our humanitarian response, despite facing trauma themselves,” stated Noriko Takagi, the UN refugee agency’s representative in Myanmar. “Time is critical as Myanmar needs global solidarity and support to cope with this immense disaster.”

Myanmar’s neighboring countries—including India, China, and Thailand—have begun sending relief materials and teams, along with support from Malaysia, Singapore, and Russia.

The United States has pledged $2 million in humanitarian aid through local organizations in Myanmar. An emergency response team from USAID, which is experiencing substantial cuts under the Trump administration, is being deployed to assist.

The earthquake’s devastation adds to the challenges facing Myanmar, which is already grappling with the chaos of an ongoing civil war that arose from a nationwide uprising following a military coup in 2021 that overthrew the democratically elected government of Nobel Peace Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi.

Reports from rebel groups indicate that the military government continues to carry out airstrikes on villages affected by the earthquake. Singapore’s foreign minister has called for an immediate ceasefire to facilitate relief efforts.

Critical infrastructure across the country—such as bridges, highways, airports, and railways—sustained damage, complicating humanitarian responses while the conflict continues to impact the economy, displace over 3.5 million people, and cripple the health care system.