Desperate scenes of residents clawing at concrete and metal to rescue loved ones gave way on Monday to the grim retrieval of bodies, as the stench of corpses pinned under the rubble overwhelmed rescuers and volunteers hurried to cremate quake victims.
Members of the Special Malaysia Disaster Assistance and Rescue Team (Smart) began operations on Monday in three locations to rescue more than a dozen people believed to have been buried under the ruins of a school and two mosques in Sagaing.
Pictures shared on Smart’s social media page showed its members working with local rescue personnel to retrieve bodies from under collapsed buildings and clearing debris by hand to reach any survivors.
But hopes were fading fast, given the passing of the critical 72-hour window for people to survive without water, Malaysia’s National Disaster Management Agency (Nadma) said.