HK sends search & rescue team to quake-hit Myanmar

The quake reduced a building under contruction in Bangkok into a heap of rubble (AFP photo)

The Hong Kong government sent a 51-strong search and rescue team to earthquake-stricken Myanmar this Saturday afternoon. The group was sent off by top government officials led by Chief Executive John Lee.

More than 1,000 people are reported to have been killed in the 7.7 magnitude earthquake that struck Myanmar and was felt all the way in Thailand on Friday afternoon.

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In the Thai capital Bangkok, at least six people have been found dead, 26 injuired and 47 missing, mostly from a construction site near the capital’s popular Chatuchak market. Meanw

hile, the Philippine government has said no Filipino has been hurt in the tremor, contrary to unverified reports that circulated earlier.

But the Philippine Embasses in Thailand and Myanmar have advised Filipinos in the two countries “to remain calm and vigilant” and monitor updates on the situation only from credible sources.

A building in Mandalay was left leaning on one side (Reuters photo)

In Myanmar, the military-led government said in a statement Saturday that 1,002 people have already been found dead and another 2,376 injured, with 30 others missing.

The numbers are expected to still rise, with the government saying “detailed figures are still being collected.”

The earthquake, said to be one of the strongest to ever hit Myanmar, was centered near the capital Mandalay. It was followed by several strong aftershocks, with one measuring 6.4 on the Richter scale.

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Across many areas in the country, buildings were toppled, roads damaged, bridges collapsed, and at least one dam burst its banks.

In neighboring Thailand, hardest hit was Bangkok, where many people live in high-rise buildings.

The massive building that was left in rubbles was a 33-storey high-rise being built by a Chinese firm for the Thai government. Witnesses said the building wobbled, then crashed to the ground in a massive plume of dust that sent people screaming and scurrying away.

HK top officials send off the city's Myanmar-bound rescue team 

Meanwhile, the Hong Kong government has expressed sympathy to the people of Myanmar in the wake of tragedy, particularly the families of the victims.

In addition, it immediately set aside $30 million from the Disaster Relief Fund to help the emergency relief operation in Myanmar.

Hong Kong’s rescue and relief team that flew to Myanmar was led by the Deputy Chief Fire Officer of the Fire Services Department (FSD), Cheu Yu-kok. It comprised 40 members of the FSD which include firemen, ambulancemen and fire services workshops personnel, as well as officers from the Security Bureau, the Immigration Department and the HA.

The team brought along two search and rescue dogs, as well as about nine tons of equipment which includes life detectors and masonry cutting machines, an automatic satellite tracking antenna system, and relief supplies.

They will join local rescue teams in Myanmar in the search and relief operations.

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