Earthquake rescue efforts in Myanmar turn to growing crisis

Search teams pulled more bodies from ruins, a week after a massive earthquake rocked Myanmar killing more than 3,100 people, amid a the country's civil war.

Search teams pulled more bodies from the ruins of buildings on Friday, a week after a massive earthquake rocked Myanmar killing more than 3,100 people, as the focus turns toward the urgent humanitarian needs in a country that was already devastated by civil war.

United Nations humanitarian chief Tom Fletcher, who is also the emergency relief coordinator, was to arrive Friday in an effort to spur action following the quake. Ahead of his visit, U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres appealed to the international community to immediately step up funding for quake victims “to match the scale of this crisis,” and he urged unimpeded access to reach those in need.

“The earthquake has supercharged the suffering with the monsoon season just around the corner,” he said Thursday.

Myanmar authorities said Thursday that 3,145 people had been killed, with another 4,589 people injured and 221 missing, and did not immediately update the figures on Friday.

A woman carries a baby as people ride on motorbikes in Kyaukse Township, Myanmar on Friday.Sai Aung Main / AFP - Getty ImagesBritain, which had already given $13 million to purchase emergency items like food, water and shelter, pledged an additional $6.5 million in funds to match an appeal from Myanmar’s Disasters Emergency Committee, according to the U.K. Embassy in Yangon.

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/earthquake-rescue-efforts-myanmar-turn-growing-crisis-rcna199660

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