WORLD NEWS – Myanmar’s 7.7 magnitude earthquake death toll surpasses 1,644

Laila Kirkpatrick, Staff Writer

Myanmar was rocked by a devastating earthquake on Friday. On Saturday, the country’s ruling military made a statement confirming that the death toll from the 7.7 magnitude earthquake has surpassed 1,000 and has risen to 1,644 deaths. Bodies have been continually discovered in the rubble of buildings that collapsed during the earthquake. 

Myanmar has had difficulty confirming the casualties over a widespread region and the number of deaths is expected to increase in the coming days. The total number of injured has increased to 3,408 and the number of missing persons has risen to 139. Rescue efforts are underway in major cities, but are being significantly hindered by the damage done to the airports across Myanmar.

The tragedy comes during the prolonged civil war, which has created a humanitarian crisis in Myanmar. The earthquake temporarily paused the fighting, but makes the country more dangerous, complicating relief efforts and raising fears that the death toll could rise precipitously.