India Sends Relief Materials To Quake-Hit Myanmar, Chinese Aid Team Assists In Rescue Ops

<p>India has sent approximately 15 tonnes of relief material to Myanmar after a powerful 7.7 magnitude earthquake ripped through the country killing at least 144 people.&nbsp;</p>
<p>A C130J aircraft of the Indian Air Force left for Myanmar from Hindon Air Force Station, Ghaziabad, carrying essential items such as tents, sleeping bags, blankets, ready-to-eat meals, water purifiers, hygiene kits, solar lamps, and generator sets.&nbsp;</p>
<p>The relief materials include essential medicines and medical equipment like Paracetamol, antibiotics, canula, syringes, gloves, cotton bandages, urine bags, etc, reported ANI quoting sources.&nbsp;</p>
<p>The epicentre of the quake was located in the central Myanmar city of Mandalay, north of the capital Nay Pyi Taw sending powerful shockwaves in Thailand where three people died after an underconstruction 30-storey building collapsed.</p>
<p>The tremors were also felt in China’s Yunnan province, Dhaka and Chttogram in Bangladesh, and Kolkata and Imphal in India.&nbsp;</p>
<p>Prime Minister Narendra Modi had expressed concern over the natural calamity and said that India stands ready to offer all possible assistance.&nbsp;</p>
<h2>Chinese Rescuers Reach Myanmar&nbsp;</h2>
<p>A 37-member Chinese rescue medical team reached &nbsp;Myanmar to assist with the ongoing search operation there, China’s state-run media reported.&nbsp;</p>
<p>The team carrying emergency and rescue equipment and other supplies departed from Kunming Changshui’s airport in south-western China on Saturday morning, reported CCTV television channel. They are also carrying earthquake early warning systems, drones and portable satellites.</p>
<p>”China stands ready to do its best to provide emergency humanitarian assistance” to Myanmar, the Chinese foreign ministry says in a statement.</p>
<h2>Rescue Ops Underway In Myanmar, Thailand&nbsp;</h2>
<p>Search and rescue operations are underway in both countries as rescuers scramble through debris to look for survivors.&nbsp;</p>
<p>Power and communication lines are down in Myanmar’s two largest cities, Mandalay and Yangon, adding difficulty for the rescuers, reported BBC Burmese.</p>
<p>”Without electricity, we can’t charge our phones. It’s hard to communicate with our families far away. We can’t use the internet if there’s no electricity,” a Mandalay resident told BBC Burmese.&nbsp;</p>
<p>In Thailand, around 100 people are missing after the collapse of an under-construction skyscraper. At least two buildings were evacuated in Bangkok overnight and volunteers are due to inspect 2,000 more for earthquake damage later on Saturday.&nbsp;</p>
<p>The medical infrastructure has been overwhelmed as one eyewitness told the BBC that patients were carried out of a hospital “by their arms and legs” after the facility ran out of wheelchairs and stretchers.&nbsp;</p>