Burma earthquake toll rises

Last Updated: Sat, 26 Mar 2011 11:14:00 +1100

The Burmese government has dispatched rescue and relief workers to the country's north-east after this week's powerful earthquake.

The reported death toll from the quake has reached 75 with fears of a higher total as conditions in remote areas become clearer.

The first pictures of the earthquake from Shan State in north-eastern Burma show wooden buildings left twisted and splintered, and a trench nearly a metre wide gouged down the middle of the main road.

The Burmese authorities, who were criticised for their slow response to Cyclone Nargis three years ago, have already dispatched rescue and relief teams to the earthquake zone.

Other aid organisations that have permission to work there are gathering supplies.

But any big relief operation would need to be sanctioned by the Burmese authorities.

Wall falls

Across the border in Thailand, a woman was killed in the Mae Sai district when a wall fell on her.

The shallow quake, which was centred 10 kilometres down, happened just before 9pm local time.

High-rise buildings shook in Bangkok hundreds of kilometres away.

People also fled their homes in the northern Vietnamese city of Hanoi, where the quake was felt at a magnitude of about five.

A number of aftershocks have been recorded.

Language News