01.04.2025 – (12:01 PM)

Search and rescue operations are ongoing at the Panglong General Hospital in the Nay Pyi Taw Council Area, and some dead bodies were found today (March 31).

Regarding the situation, U Soe Thet Naung, the head of the Uttara Thiri District Fire Department, said, “I am currently responsible for the collapse of the Panglong Hospital in my district due to the earthquake. I am responsible for the search and rescue team here. We started the rescue operations within half an hour from the 28th.”

Currently, the three-story Panglong General Hospital has collapsed, with the entire bottom floor sinking into the ground, leaving only the second floor remaining, said U Soe Thet Naung, the head of the Uttara Thiri District Fire Department.

“The places where the most help is being rescued are the patients who are trapped on the ground floor. These are the ones that are being rescued the most. From the day it started until today, we have rescued 20 patients, patient care workers, and hospital staff and teachers who were able to be rescued alive. As for the number of dead bodies, we have already rescued 8 dead bodies to date,” said U Soe Thet Naung, head of the Uttara Thiri District Fire Department.

U Soe Thet Naung continued, “We currently have teams working together. The Myanmar Fire Department has a search and rescue team led by Nay Pyi Taw, a team led by Kain Taw, and a special search and rescue team from Yangon. There is also a Chinese search and rescue team that came to help from China. In recent days, these three teams have been working together to rescue living patients. Recently, due to the passage of time, the percentage of living patients has decreased significantly. There are only dead bodies, and the rest are left. That is why the other teams are continuing to work in the remaining priority areas. As for our team, as the Nay Pyi Taw search and rescue team, I lead them and take out dead bodies every day, and there are people waiting for the dead bodies found here. We are carrying out the work of confirming their owners and handing them over,” said U Soe Thet Naung, head of the Uttara Thiri District Fire Department.