Myanmar Resistance Movement Declares Partial Ceasefire to Aid Earthquake Relief Efforts

Naypyidaw: Myanmar's main resistance movement on Saturday announced a partial ceasefire to facilitate earthquake relief efforts. 

Myanmar's ruling military said on Saturday that the death toll from the devastating 7.7 magnitude earthquake had risen to 1,644, with more bodies recovered from the rubble of collapsed buildings near the country’s second-largest city.

Rescue operations are focused on the major affected cities of Mandalay and Naypyitaw, but operations are being hindered by the damage to local airports, which are deemed unfit for planes to land.

The new figure of 1,644 death bodies marks a significant increase from the earlier reported 1,002 deaths, highlighting the challenges of confirming casualties across widespread regions in Myanmar. 

The number of injuries has reached 3,408, and the missing count has risen to 139.

While teams and equipment from other nations have been dispatched, the ongoing civil war in Myanmar complicates the movement of relief efforts, raising concerns that the death toll could continue to increase rapidly.

In neighboring Thailand, the earthquake was felt in the greater Bangkok area, which is home to around 17 million people, as well as other parts of the country.