Taipei, March 29 (CNA) One Taiwanese woman remains trapped in a collapsed hotel in Mandalay while her husband has been rescued following a magnitude 7.7 earthquake that struck Myanmar on Friday afternoon, according to Taiwan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA).
To date, three Taiwanese have been reported to be affected by the disaster, and, in a statement Saturday, MOFA said it was still monitoring developments related to the woman trapped in a Mandalay hotel.
She has been able to remain in communication with the outside world amid ongoing rescue efforts, MOFA said, while noting that her husband, who was with her at the time of the earthquake, has been pulled from the rubble and suffered only minor injuries.
Another Taiwanese woman who was thought to be missing in a separate collapsed building in Mandalay has been contacted and is safe, MOFA said.
Following the earthquake, MOFA has raised its travel alert for Myanmar to the second-highest “orange” alert, urging Taiwanese citizens to avoid unnecessary travel to Myanmar due to increasing safety concerns.
MOFA’s four-tier travel warning system consists of red, orange, yellow and gray levels, where “red” represents the most serious situation.
Its travel advisory for Thailand, meanwhile, remained on yellow, which means travelers should review their travel plans and be extra vigilant when visiting.
Meanwhile, though Myanmar has called for “any country, any organization” to help as the death toll mounts to over 1,000 people, many countries, including Taiwan, have not received requests for assistance.
Foreign reports indicate that China and India have sent some rescue personnel and essential supplies into Myanmar, but the international response has yet to ramp up.
In the past, the military junta in Myanmar has been reluctant to accept international aid after disasters.
Taiwan’s representative office in Myanmar and Thailand, where a building under construction collapsed, has informed the two countries that it has rescue teams ready to be deployed at any time to assist with disaster relief, MOFA said in its statement.
According to MOFA, the governments of Myanmar and Thailand still needed to assess their current respective conditions, infrastructure, overall planning, and logistical support before they can respond to Taiwan’s offer.
On Saturday, the National Fire Agency said in a separate news release that a total of over 100 rescue personnel, including medical professionals and six rescue dogs, were on 24-hour standby and could be deployed at any time.
