NI Bureau
Myanmar’s 1000-Bed Hospital Struggles as the Earthquake Turns the Place into a Mass Casualty Zone
New Delhi, March 28, 2025
A powerful 7.7-magnitude earthquake struck central Myanmar on Friday, shaking the nation and causing buildings to collapse as far away as Thailand. The authorities in Bangkok declared the capital an “emergency zone”.
A 1,000-bed hospital in Myanmar’s capital, Naypyidaw, is believed to be a mass casualty area on Friday afternoon. This comes after a powerful 7.7-magnitude earthquake struck near Sagaing, approximately 260 km away.While the exact death toll at the hospital remains unknown, reports indicate that at least 20 people have died, including 10 worshippers who were killed when a mosque collapsed in Mandalay during prayers.
The hospital, which has not yet been named, is one of the city’s biggest medical institutions. Wounded individuals were receiving treatment on the streets, with intravenous drips suspended from gurneys, while their families and loved ones stood by to comfort them. The earthquake caused significant damage across Myanmar, affecting residential buildings in Mandalay and demolishing the old bridge over the Irrawaddy River. A monastery near the Thailand border was also reduced to ruins.
Footage shared online captured scenes of panic in Myanmar and Thailand, with residents fleeing from swaying high-rise buildings as clouds of dust filled the air. Traffic came to a standstill on bustling city streets. The tremors were also felt in China’s southwestern Yunnan province, which borders Myanmar.
Prateeksha Thakur
