The recent devastating earthquake in central Myanmar has claimed the lives of more than 2,800 people in Myanmar so far. Many buildings have collapsed, and rescue teams from various countries are continuing their search but rescue operations are difficult due to the severe heat and frequent aftershocks. 

The Turkish GEA search-and-rescue team, with which A-PAD has a cooperation agreement, arrived in Yangon on March 31 and has been continuing search-and-rescue operations in the capital of Naypyidaw since April 1.

On April 1, the fifth day after the disaster, the GEA team found a survivor and rescued him safely and also rescued another survivor the next day. The rescued person is a 26-year-old Vietnamese man who worked in the kitchen at a local hotel. 121 hours had passed since the earthquake, exceeding the “72-hour wall” when the number of survivors is said to decrease rapidly, but he was safely rescued from the rubble in a stable condition.

Although many people have already died and the situation remains dire at the scene, there were people shedding tears of joy at the miraculous rescue.

The GEA team continues their search and rescue efforts, sleeping in tents in temperatures exceeding 40 degrees Celsius, saying, “We will not give up, we must not give up.”