The Death Toll Of The Myanmar Earthquake Reaches 1,000 People

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JAKARTA - The foreign rescue team began flying to Myanmar on Saturday to help search for survivors from the earthquake that killed more than 1,000 people. The quake paralyzed critical infrastructure amid ongoing civil war.

Myanmar's death toll to 1,002, the military government said on Saturday, March 29, rising sharply from an initial report by state media that said 144 people died on Friday.

It was reported that nine people died in neighboring Thailand, where an earthquake measuring 7.7 on the Richter scale rocked buildings and knocked down buildings under construction in the capital Bangkok, trapping 30 people under the rubble, and 49 people missing.

Predictive modeling from the US Geological Agency estimates the death toll could exceed 10,000 in Myanmar and losses could exceed the country's annual economic yield.

The quake damaged roads, bridges and buildings in Myanmar, according to the junta, whose top generals made rare calls for international aid on Friday.

"Search and rescue operations are currently underway in the affected areas," the junta said in a statement in state media.

Chinese rescue teams arrived in Myanmar's commercial capital, Yangon, hundreds of kilometers from heavily affected cities in Mandalay and Naypyitaw, the nation's capital, where parts of hospitals with a capacity of 1,000 beds were damaged.