Myanmar’s ruling junta made a rare request for international humanitarian aid and declared a state of emergency across six regions after a powerful earthquake hit the country on Friday.
AFP reporters saw junta chief Min Aung Hlaing arrive at a hospital in Naypyidaw where wounded were being treated after the 7.7-magnitude quake hit central Myanmar.
“We want the international community to give humanitarian aid as soon as possible,” junta spokesman Zaw Min Tun told AFP at the hospital.
Casualty numbers have yet to emerge but the fact that the isolated military government is appealing for help — which it rarely does after natural disasters — suggests they could be on a large scale.
The junta said in a statement that a state of emergency was in effect in six of the worst-affected areas: Sagaing, Mandalay, Magway, northeastern Shan State, Naypyidaw, and Bago.
Zaw Min Tun said blood donations were needed for patients in Mandalay, Naypyidaw and Sagaing.
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