Myanmar holds minute of silence as death toll from earthquake tops 2,700

Authorities in Myanmar have held a minute of silence to honour the victims of a catastrophic earthquake that killed more than 2,700 people, including 50 children at one preschool near the city of Mandalay. The moment of remembrance on Tuesday came as aid groups said communities in the hardest-hit areas were struggling to find food, water and shelter.

The magnitude 7.7 earthquakes, which hit around lunchtime on Friday, were the strongest to hit the South East Asian country in more than a century, toppling ancient pagodas and modern buildings alike. Myanmar’s military leader senior general min Aung Hlaing, in a televised address on Tuesday, said the death toll had reached 2,719 and could even exceed 3,000. He said 4,521 people were injured, and 441 were missing, at least 20 people were also killed in neighboring Thailand.

In hard-hit Mandalay in central Myanmar, sirens rang out at 12:51pm (06:21 GMT), the precise time that the quake struck, calling residents to a standstill. Outside the sky villa apartment complex, one of the city’s worst-hit disaster sites, rescue workers stopped and lined up with hands clasped behind their backs to pay their respects.