Over 700 Muslims were killed, 60 mosques destroyed in Myanmar earthquake

A Myanmar Muslim organisation says more than 700 worshippers were killed when a 7.7-magnitude earthquake struck the country at Friday prayer time during the holy month of Ramadan.

Tun Kyi, a member of the steering committee of the Spring Revolution Myanmar Muslim Network, said Monday that some 60 mosques were damaged or destroyed when the 7.7 magnitude quake hit near Mandalay, the country’s second-largest city.

It was not immediately clear whether those killed in the mosques were included in the official toll of more than 1,700 people killed in the earthquake so far.

Videos posted on The Irrawaddy online news site showed several mosques toppling during the quake, and people fleeing from the areas.

Tun Kyi said most of the mosques damaged were older buildings more vulnerable to earthquakes.

The death toll from the earthquake that hit Myanmar has risen to more than 1,700 as more bodies have been pulled from the rubble, the country’s military-led government said Monday.

Government spokesman Maj. Gen. Zaw Min Tun told state-run MRTV that another 3,400 have been injured and more than 300 were missing.

He did not provide more specific figures.

The 7.7 magnitude earthquake hit at midday Friday, causing widespread damage, including in the capital Naypitaw and the second largest city, Mandalay.

The earthquake, whose epicentre was near Mandalay, brought down scores of buildings and damaged other infrastructure like the city’s airport.

Relief efforts have been hampered by buckled roads, downed bridges, spotty communications and the challenges of operating in a country engaged in a civil war.

In neighbouring Thailand, the quake rocked much of the country and killed at least 18 people, many at a construction site in Bangkok where a partially built high-rise collapsed.

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