Mandalay, March 29: At least 1,002 were killed, 2,376 were injured, and 30 remained missing in the earthquake that rattled Myanmar, according to the Information Team of Myanmar’s State Administration Council on Saturday.

Rescue efforts have intensified in Myanmar despite severe disruptions to transportation and communication networks following a powerful 7.7-magnitude earthquake that struck the country on Friday afternoon.

The quake, which originated near Sagaing, triggered 12 aftershocks ranging from 2.8 to 7.5 in magnitude, further worsening conditions in the affected areas.

The devastation has been widespread, with Mandalay, Bago, Magway, northeastern Shan State, Sagaing, and Nay Pyi Taw among the hardest-hit regions, reports Xinhua news agency.

The Myanmar government has declared a national emergency as emergency responders work tirelessly to assist those in need.

A critical transport link, the Yangon-Mandalay highway, suffered severe damage near Nay Pyi Taw and Mandalay, making relief operations challenging.

People have resorted to using the older Yangon-Mandalay road to arrive at the quake-hit areas and facilitate rescue efforts. Additionally, the collapse of buildings in Mandalay Airport and sections of the highway has further disrupted travel between Yangon and Mandalay, Myanmar’s two largest cities.

Rescue teams, including fire service personnel from lower Myanmar, have arrived at the severely affected areas like Nay Pyi Taw and Mandalay. However, damaged infrastructure, power outages, and disruptions to phone and internet services have complicated relief efforts.

International assistance has begun arriving. A Chinese rescue team landed in Yangon on Saturday morning to support Myanmar’s emergency response and provide aid to affected communities.

As authorities and rescue teams work around the clock to assist those impacted by the disaster, Myanmar faces the daunting task of recovering from one of its most powerful earthquakes in recent history.

With critical infrastructure damaged and essential services disrupted, coordinated relief efforts are urgently needed to help survivors rebuild their lives.

Myanmar leader Senior General Min Aung Hlaing has called for humanitarian assistance from both local and international communities. On Saturday morning, Min Aung Hlaing arrived in Mandalay to facilitate the rescue operations.

Naypyidaw (Myanmar), March 29: An earthquake of magnitude 4.2 on the Richter Scale hit Myanmar on Friday at 11:56 pm (local time), according to the National Center for Seismology (NCS).

In a post on X, the National Center for Seismology wrote, “Earthquake of magnitude: 4.2, On: March 28, 2025, 23:56:29 IST, Latitude: 22.15 N, Longitude: 95.41 E, Depth: 10 Km, Location: Myanmar.”

As per the NCS, the latest earthquake occurred at a depth of 10 km, making it susceptible to aftershocks.

The NCS reported the earthquake was recorded at Latitude 22.15 N and Longitude 95.41 E.

Earlier on Friday, Myanmar was jolted by a series of tremors, including a major earthquake of magnitude 7.2 on the Richter Scale that occurred at 11:50 am (local time).

The powerful tremor was felt in Bangkok and several parts of Thailand, with eyewitness reports and local media accounts noting that hundreds of people rushed out of swaying buildings in Bangkok.

Several posts on social media showed water splashing out of swimming pools due to the quake’s intensity.

According to the NCS, the 7.2-magnitude earthquake struck at a depth of 10 km and was recorded at Latitude 21.93 N and Longitude 96.07 E.

In a post on X, NCS said, “Earthquake of Magnitude: 7.2, On: March 28, 2025, 11:50:52 IST, Latitude: 21.93 N, Longitude: 96.07 E, Depth: 10 Km, Location: Myanmar.”

The earthquake at around 11:50 a.m. IST was followed by an aftershock of 6.4-magnitude minutes later.

The NCS said that an earthquake of magnitude 4.9 on the Richter scale hit Myanmar, saying that it was the third aftershock, following the first 7.2 magnitude on the Richter scale.

Video obtained by CNN from Myanmar appeared to show a road bridge spanning the Irrawaddy River, which runs through Mandalay, collapsing into the river in a cloud of dust and water.

Shallow earthquakes like this one are more dangerous than deeper ones due to their greater energy release closer to the Earth’s surface, causing stronger ground shaking and increased damage to structures and casualties, compared to deeper earthquakes which lose energy as they travel to the surface.

Although Myanmar is an earthquake-prone country, there has not been proposed an official national seismic hazard map.

Due to the collision between the Eurasian and Indo-Australian plates, Myanmar is an area with a high seismic hazard level.

According to the earthquake parameters summarised by the International Seismological Centre around 140 events with magnitude greater than or equal to 3.0 have taken place in Myanmar and its vicinity every year from 1990 to 2019. Thus, it is evident that Myanmar is vulnerable to hazards from moderate and large magnitude earthquakes, including tsunami hazards along its long coastline.

Moscow, March 27: Citing that the political dialogue between India and Russia is “developing dynamically” and is facilitated by the fact that Moscow and New Delhi “have close or even coinciding views on the objectively emerging multipolar world order”, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has said that preparations are being made for Russian President Vladimir Putin’s upcoming visit to India.

“Relations between our countries have a long history. It can be said that they have stood the test of time more than once. Today, Russia and India are developing equal cooperation based on sincere, mutual respect and consideration of each other’s interests,” Lavrov told the participants of the first international conference ‘Russia and India: Towards a New Agenda for Bilateral Relations’ which was also addressed by External Affairs Minister (EAM) S. Jaishankar.

“It is difficult to overestimate the contribution of our leaders to this process. It is symbolic that Prime Minister Narendra Modi made his first bilateral foreign visit after his re-election last year to Russia. Now it is our turn. Russian President Vladimir Putin accepted the invitation of the head of the Indian government. The visit of the head of the Russian state to the Republic of India is being prepared,” he added.

Earlier, Kremlin aide Yury Ushakov had confirmed that Putin is expected to visit India in early 2025 following an invitation from Prime Minister Modi.

The visit is being planned as part of the ongoing commitment to annual meetings between the two leaders.

“Our leaders have an agreement to meet once a year. This time, it is our turn,” Ushakov had said during a press briefing.

The last visit by the Russian President to India took place on December 6, 2021, during the 21st India-Russia Annual Summit in New Delhi.

Meanwhile, PM Modi held two high-profile visits to Russia last year, attending the 22nd Russia-India Summit in July and later participated in the BRICS Summit held in Kazan in October.

Addressing the gathering during the Russia-India conference, Lavrov highlighted how the relations between both countries have a solid material base.

“Trade and economic cooperation is steadily expanding. We are successfully overcoming the attempts of certain ill-wishers to prevent this. In 2024, bilateral trade turnover exceeded $60 billion. This is the highest result in the entire modern history of relations. But, of course, this is not the limit. We continue to work to achieve the goal set by the leaders at last year’s July summit: to bring trade turnover to $100 billion by 2030. The increase in practical cooperation reflects not only the existing potential of Russian-Indian trade, but also the great interest of the business circles of our countries in its full development, including the implementation of joint investment projects,” he said.

The Russian Foreign Minister stated that, along with partner India, Russia advocates for the democratization of international relations, for an increased role for the Global South in economic governance mechanisms, respect for the cultural and civilizational identity of all peoples of the world, and their right to independently determine their own development paths.

“We highly value and welcome the ability of Indian diplomacy to implement an independent, multi-vector foreign policy course. We believe that India has every reason to have the status of one of the great powers of our time, one of the influential centres of the multipolar world. We share the philosophy of the Indian foreign policy concept “The whole world is a family”, aimed at ensuring international cooperation for the benefit of all mankind based on a balance of interests of all states. We value joint work in the UN , the G20 , BRICS , SCO and other multilateral platforms,” he mentioned.

“I would like to separately express gratitude to the Russian side for the fact that India, and Prime Minister Narendra Modi personally, consistently takes a balanced position with regard to the Ukrainian crisis and advocates its resolution through dialogue and the elimination of the root causes of this conflict,” he added.