Woman rescued alive from debris 30 hours after Mandalay quake

MANDALAY: A woman has been pulled alive from the debris of a collapsed apartment block in Mandalay, 30 hours after a powerful earthquake struck Myanmar, causing widespread destruction and leaving many feared trapped.

Applause rang out as Phyu Lay Khaing, 30, was brought out of the Sky Villa Condominium by rescuers and carefully removed from the rubble on a stretcher.

Her husband, Ye Aung, who had been waiting anxiously for news, embraced her as the stretcher was lifted down.

"In the beginning, I didn’t think she would be alive," Ye Aung told AFP as he waited for his wife to emerge from the debris.

"I am very happy that I heard good news," said the trader, who has two sons with his wife – eight-year-old William and five-year-old Ethan.

As the ambulance drove away to hospital, Ye Aung was seen through the window clutching his wife’s hand.

A Red Cross official told AFP earlier that more than 90 people could be trapped under the remains of the apartment block.

The shallow 7.7-magnitude quake struck northwest of Mandalay early on Friday afternoon, followed minutes later by a 6.7-magnitude aftershock.

The tremors destroyed buildings, brought down bridges, and buckled roads across vast areas of Myanmar, with massive destruction seen in Mandalay, the country’s second-largest city and home to more than 1.7 million people.