Pakistan sends 35 tonnes of relief supplies to quake-hit Myanmar

Pakistan dispatches humanitarian assistance consignment containing 35 tonnes of relief supplies for quake-hit Myanmar on April 1, 2025. — PID

On the directives of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, a relief consignment containing 35 tonnes was dispatched by the government to quake-hit Myanmar on Tuesday.

Minister for Parliamentary Affairs Tariq Fazal Chaudhry saw off the cargo flight at Islamabad International Airport, Radio Pakistan reported.

The aid package includes tents, blankets, tarpaulins, water modules, ready-made food and medicines. It will be delivered to Myanmar authorities at Yangon airport.

The death toll from a major earthquake last week in Myanmar is at 2,719, the chief of the ruling junta said on Tuesday, with the figure expected to exceed 3,000.

In a speech carried on state television, Min Aung Hlaing said there were 4,521 people injured and 441 missing after Friday’s 7.7 magnitude quake.

Shelter, clean water and medicine are in short supply following the earthquake that has caused significant structural damage and had a devastating human toll, the United Nations’ Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said on Tuesday.

Specialists, including members of Russias emergencies ministry, take part in a search operation following a massive earthquake in Mandalay, Myanmar, in this still image from video released April 1, 2025. — Reuters — Specialists, including members of Russia’s emergencies ministry, take part in a search operation following a massive earthquake in Mandalay, Myanmar, in this still image from video released April 1, 2025. — Reuters

A 7.7 magnitude earthquake on Friday severely damaged critical infrastructure, including major bridges and roads, Reuters reported.

“The time window for critical search and rescue is narrowing … Shelter, clean water, medicine are in short supply. People in affected areas spent the night in the open because there is no electricity or running water,” OCHA’s Myanmar Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator Marcoluigi Corsi told reporters in Geneva via video link from Yangon.

Multiple UN Agencies have raised the alarm about the shortage of drinking water, with concerns of cholera spreading.

“It is really dire — the most immediate need is water, it is super hot out there…Water pipes and septic tanks have broken,” said Julia Rees, Unicef’s Deputy Representative, via the video link.

The World Health Organization said hospitals were overwhelmed and that medical supplies were running out, and that there were shortages of running water and fuel.

The UN’s refugee agency, UNHCR, has identified the situation as a top-level humanitarian crisis and is mobilising stocks like plastic sheets, sleeping material and mosquito nets.

Response efforts have been complicated by severe damage to roads and bridges, meaning it took UNHCR teams 13 hours to reach Mandalay from Yangon, in what should usually be a eight-hour journey, according to the organisation.

“The most urgent requirements is shelter and relief items … there is also the risk of explosive ordnance – due to the last four years of active conflict,” UNHCR representative Babar Baloch told reporters in Geneva.