Rescuers Pull Survivor from Myanmar Hotel Rubble as Death Toll Nears 2,000

 Mandalay, Myanmar/Bangkok, Thailand – Rescuers successfully freed a woman from the ruins of a hotel in Myanmar, officials confirmed on Monday, offering a rare moment of hope three days after a devastating earthquake that has claimed nearly 2,000 lives. Search and rescue teams in Myanmar and Thailand are racing against time to locate more survivors.

The woman was rescued after being trapped for 60 hours beneath the collapsed Great Wall Hotel in Mandalay. Her extraction followed an extensive five-hour operation carried out by Chinese, Russian, and local rescue teams, according to a statement from the Chinese embassy. Officials confirmed that she is in stable condition as of early Monday.

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

Desperate Search for Survivors in Thailand

In Bangkok, emergency crews are continuing their frantic search for 76 individuals believed to be trapped under the debris of a collapsed under-construction skyscraper. Using cranes and search dogs, rescuers remain hopeful despite the narrowing survival window.

Bangkok Governor Chadchart Sittipunt emphasized that the search will continue beyond the conventional 72-hour critical period. “We have seen cases in Turkey where survivors have been rescued after a week. The search will not be canceled,” he stated.

Rescue teams have detected weak life signs beneath the rubble, and search dogs are being deployed to pinpoint possible survivors. “We’ve identified multiple spots showing signs of life,” Chadchart added.

As of Sunday, Thailand’s official death toll stood at 18, though this number is expected to rise if no additional rescues are made at the collapsed site.

Rising Death Toll and International Aid Efforts

In Myanmar, state media has confirmed at least 1,700 fatalities, while The Wall Street Journal, citing the ruling military junta, reported that the death toll had reached 2,028. Reuters has not independently verified this figure.

The United Nations has begun rushing relief supplies to approximately 23,000 survivors in central Myanmar. “Our teams in Mandalay are joining efforts to scale up the humanitarian response despite experiencing trauma themselves,” said Noriko Takagi, the UN Refugee Agency’s representative in Myanmar. “Time is of the essence, and Myanmar urgently needs global solidarity and support.”

Countries including India, China, and Thailand have sent emergency relief materials and rescue teams. Additional aid and personnel have also been deployed from Malaysia, Singapore, and Russia. The United States has pledged $2 million in humanitarian assistance through Myanmar-based organizations. The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) is also dispatching an emergency response team, despite facing significant budget cuts under the Trump administration.

Disaster Amid Ongoing Civil Conflict

The earthquake has exacerbated Myanmar’s already dire humanitarian crisis, which stems from a civil war following the 2021 military coup that ousted the elected government of Nobel Peace Prize laureate Aung San Suu Kyi.

Rebel groups have accused Myanmar’s ruling military of continuing airstrikes on villages even in the aftermath of the disaster. In response, Singapore’s foreign minister has called for an immediate ceasefire to facilitate relief efforts.

The earthquake has severely damaged critical infrastructure, including bridges, highways, airports, and railways, further hindering aid distribution. Myanmar’s ongoing conflict has already displaced over 3.5 million people, weakened the economy, and crippled the nation’s healthcare system.