More than 1,640 people are confirmed to have been killed in the devastating earthquake that rocked Myanmar and neighbouring Thailand last week, according to officials
Thailand earthquake: Window cleaner clings to swaying building
This is the terrifying moment a window cleaner hung on their their life from a skyscraper as a 7.7 magnitude earthquake struck Southeast Asia.
The window cleaner, wearing just a safety harness, helmet and rope, had been working at a high-rise building in Thailand when the massive tremor rocked the country. Just seconds into the quake, the cleaner was seen clinging onto the edge of the building as water from a rooftop pool spilled over the side. Handing on for his life, the cleaner tried to descend down the building using the rope but as the quake intensified he started to sway from side to side.
The window cleaner managed a lucky escape with the quake bringing unprecedented destruction to Myanmar and Thailand. Officials in both countries have said at least 1,644 people have been killed with an estimated 3,400 injured.
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The tremor struck at midday on Friday and caused widespread damage, including to the Myanmar capital Naypitaw and the second largest city, Mandalay. The quake, whose epicentre was close to Mandalay, brought down numerous buildings and damaged infrastructure such as the city’s airport.
Dramatic footage also captured the moment a street was flooded with gallons of water in Yunnan Province, China which felt the impact of the earthquake. CCTV footage showed people desperately fleeing as a torrent of water was dumped from a rooftop pool before rushing down the street.
At the beginning of the clip, from Ruili City in Yunnan Province, panicked residents can be seen running down a city street while nervously peering behind them, before the fast-moving current eventually catches up and appears to completely submerge them. It is not known how many were left injured in the incident.
Relief efforts in Myanmar have been hampered by buckled roads, collapsed bridges, downed communications and attempting to navigate the ongoing civil war. In Thailand, the tremor rocked the country and killed at least 18 people, with many having been at a construction site in the capital Bangkok, where numerous high-rise buildings are.
Cara Bragg, of the Yangon-based manager of Catholic Relief Services in Myanmar said people had been working to save those trapped under the rubble. She said; “It’s mainly been local volunteers, local people who are just trying to find their loved ones.
“I’ve also seen reports that now some countries are sending search and rescue teams up to Mandalay to support the efforts, but hospitals are really struggling to cope with the influx of injured people, there’s a shortage of medical supplies, and people are struggling to find food and clean water.”
Official relief efforts in Naypitaw had prioritised government offices and staff housing that left locals and aid groups having to dig through the rubble by hand in several residential areas. A team from neighbouring China managed to rescue an older man who had been trapped for nearly 40 hours beneath the rubble of a Naypitaw hospital with many others still believed to be buried under the collapsed building.
Reports from Myanmar claim the smell of decaying bodies permeated the streets of Mandalay. People worked frantically by hand to clear rubble in the hope of finding someone still alive.
