Jamie Whitehead
Live reporter

Image source, Reuters

It's been over 24 hours since an earthquake hit Myanmar so severely it caused a high-rise under construction 1,000km (621 miles) away in Bangkok to collapse.

So far we know that 1,644 people have been killed in Myanmar, the country's internationally-sanctioned military government said earlier on Saturday. In addition to this, 3,408 people are missing and 139 are missing.

In Bangkok, the latest official figures say that 11 people have died, 32 are injured and 83 missing, but Fire and Rescue Thailand have posted on Facebook saying another body has been recovered from the collapsed building in the capital.

As the search for survivors continues for a second night in both countries, friends and relatives are waiting anxiously for news of their loved ones, perhaps given a faint glimmer of hope after a woman was pulled from rubble in Mandalay after 30 hours.

But as rescue efforts continued in Myanmar, so did the violence. Air strikes by the military were reported in areas declared states of emergency.

The National Unity Government of Myanmar has announced that the People's Defence Force (PDF) will implement a two-week pause in offensive military operations, except for defensive actions, in earthquake-affected areas starting tomorrow.

We're going to pause our live coverage now but our colleagues in Singapore will be resuming when the sun rises over Thailand and Myanmar.

Until then, there's plenty across the BBC for you.

• Myanmar quake toll passes 1,600 as people dig for survivors with bare hands
• Watch the moment rescuers pull woman alive from the rubble
• Panisa Aemocha writes about the desperate search for survivors in rubble of 30-storey building
• And the major earthquake adds to war-torn Myanmar's troubles, writes Yvette Tan

Rescuers in Bangkok have removed another deceased body from the collapsed building in the Chatuchak District.

The body was located in the upper section of the debris, Fire and Rescue Thailand reported on Facebook.

The recovery takes the number of people killed in the Thai capital to at least 12.

For the second night in a row, some people in Myanmar are choosing to sleep outside, worried that there will be a repeat of the huge 7.7-magnitude earthquake which devastated the country on Friday.

We've seen these pictures from the capital Nay Pyi Taw, which show basic shelters people have made to sleep under.

Nay Pyi Taw is one of six areas of Myanmar under a state of emergency following the earthquake, and at one major hospital in the capital, doctors had to treat patients outside.

Image source, EPA

Image source, EPA

The earth's upper layer is split into different sections, called tectonic plates, which are all moving constantly. Some move alongside each other, whilst others are above and below each other.

It is this movement that causes earthquakes and volcanoes.

Myanmar is considered to be one of the most geologically "active" areas in the world because it sits on top of the convergence of four of these tectonic plates - the Eurasian plate, the Indian plate, the Sunda plate and the Burma microplate.

There is a major fault called the Sagaing fault, which cuts right through Myanmar north to south and is more than 1,200km (746 miles) long.

Early data suggests that the movement that caused Friday's 7.7-magnitude earthquake was a "strike-slip" - where two blocks move horizontally along each other.

This aligns with the movement typical of the Sagaing fault.

We have a full explainer on what caused the earthquake and why it caused just one building in Bangkok to collapse

Aye Thu San
Assistant editor, Asia digital production hub

Most of the people living in Amarapura are back on the streets after an earthquake alert was issued for the township by authorities.

One resident told the BBC the warning came after an aftershock hit at around 23:20 local time (16:50 GMT).

Authorities have alerted the public in Amarapura township in Mandalay that there is a possibility of another earthquake.

The public have been advised to be aware of a potential earthquake between midnight and 08:00 local time (01:30 GMT) on Sunday.

Image source, EPA

In Bangkok, we've been reporting on the collapse of an unfinished high-rise in the city's Chatuchak area following the earthquake.

Our BBC Burmese colleagues in Bangkok spoke to construction worker Ko Myint Kyaw, who managed to escape the site by jumping from the third floor.

"When the quake hit, I was on the third floor scaffolding the building. When I felt it stronger, I just jumped and I escaped. When I touched the ground, I heard a loud bang and the building collapsed," he says.

"It just happened in a two-minute window if I was not mistaken. The building collapsed after two minutes when the quake started.

"I feel deeply sorry for my friends who are still missing and I am waiting here for them," Ko Myint Kyaw adds.

Newly released satellite images show scale of destruction in Myanmarpublished at 17:47 Greenwich Mean Time 29 March

17:47 GMT 29 March

By Paul Brown

Satellite imagery released by Maxar Technologies has revealed some of the damage to Mandalay and Sagaing following yesterday's earthquake.

The images, captured today, show damage to pagodas, temples and residential buildings, as well as the Sagaing Bridge, which collapsed into the Irrawaddy River yesterday.

In one striking image, a collection of shacks and buildings in a southern area of Mandalay have completely collapsed.

Kristina Volk
BBC World Service

A man from the Mandalay area I've been speaking to since yesterday is still trying to rescue people trapped under the rubble.

He and other residents don’t have any machines or rescue gear. He told me earlier: "People are using their hands to remove the debris."

Fearing repercussions from the military junta, he wants to stay anonymous.

This morning, the rescuers found a child under the rubble who asked for water.

"I gave the child a straw so the water can reach through the debris. Sometimes I can hear voices that are calling for help," he says.

"We are trying to save the lives of the people trapped. But even if we manage to get them out and bring them to the hospital, they cannot treat them. There is no electricity or water."

He adds that a fuel shortage is making things harder, as they need it for water pumps and to transport the injured.

Normally, many young people would help in situations like this, he says, but since the conscription law came in back in February 2024, many have fled or joined resistance groups.

"If they come back to the cities they will be arrested. So there are not too many young helping hands."

• To learn more about the fighting between the military junta and resistance groups, take a look at our earlier explainer

Today, we've been bringing you updates on military air strikes in areas of Myanmar declared states of emergency.

We can now report that the armed wing of Myanmar's National Unity Government (NUG) - formed by groups that oppose the military junta in power since 2021 - says it will not engage further and instead implement a two-week ceasefire so that much-needed aid can get into areas affected by yesterday's earthquake.

The People's Defence Force (PDF) says that in areas under its control, they will work with the UN and international aid agencies "to ensure security, transportation, and the establishment of temporary rescue and medical camps".

As a reminder, it's now more than 24 hours after a 7.7 magnitude earthquake struck Myanmar and it's understood that many areas remain cut off to aid.

• Here's an earlier post explaining who the NUG are and the complex political landscape in Myanmar since a military coup in February 2021

Rebecca Henschke
BBC Eye reporter and former Asia editor

The UN has described the ongoing military air strikes as “completely outrageous and unacceptable”.

Tom Andrews, UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights, told the BBC that it was "nothing short of incredible” that the military was continuing to “drop bombs when you are trying to rescue people” in the wake of the devastating earthquake.

He called on the military regime - which seized power in a coup nearly four years ago - to stop all military operations. “Anyone who has influence on the military needs to step up the pressure and make it very clear that this is not acceptable,” he said.

He also warned that Myanmar’s military has a longstanding practice of denying aid to areas where resistance groups are active.

In the past relief efforts, he said the military have blocked aid and arrested aid workers.

“I'm afraid I'm fully expecting that that will be the case with this disaster," he said.

"The junta does not reveal the truth it also has a habit of blocking humanitarian aid from getting to where it is most needed. They weaponise this aid. They send it to those areas that they have control of, and they deny it to areas that they do not.”

The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs has posted a flash update following the earthquakes in Myanmar. A number of aftershocks have been reported, according to the release.

You can read the whole update here, external, but we've pulled out the key lines for you:

• At the moment, over 2,200 people are known to be injured and over 200 people are missing as search and rescue operations continue into the night. As a reminder, the official death toll stands at 1,644
• The United Nations is organising humanitarian support for the affected areas, with the emergency relief coordinator allocating an initial $5m (£3.8m) for life saving assistance in Myanmar
• Coordination efforts are already under way "to conduct rapid needs assessments and scale up emergency response"

Vicky Wong
BBC News

Image source, Getty Images

A structural engineering expert has told the BBC that fewer than 10% of buildings in Bangkok are quake-resistant.

Amorn Pimarnmas, president of the Structural Engineers Association of Thailand, says a 2007 law requiring earthquake-resistant design only applies to new buildings. That means any built before 2007 "are likely not to be designed for earthquakes".

He says some buildings are designed to handle wind load – the force of wind on a structure – and may have some ability to resist quakes, but it's not guaranteed they'll hold up.

He also warns that ground shaking in Bangkok could be three to four times stronger because the city is built on soft soil.

"Thus, the structure can collapse," he says.

The latest figures from Bangkok report that 11 people have died, 32 are injured while 83 are still missing.

As rescue efforts continue into the night in the Thai capital, here's a snapshot of how the city looks at the moment:

Image source, Getty Images

Image source, Getty Images

Image source, EPA

Adam Hancock
Reporting from Bangkok

Image source, EPA

It’s just after 23:00 here in Bangkok and rescuers are still working tirelessly to search for survivors.

The bright search lights are highlighting just how much dust is in the air, as excavators continue to sift through the debris.

Watching on are the friends and family members of those who are still trapped under the rubble. Many of them are settling in for a long night.

The rescue operation has been almost non-stop for over 30 hours now and it shows no signs of slowing down.

The Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) says an eleventh person has died in the Thai capital as a result of Friday's earthquake in Myanmar.

The BMA says that 32 people are injured while a further 83 are still missing.

The difficulties of reporting from Myanmarpublished at 15:50 Greenwich Mean Time 29 March

15:50 GMT 29 March

Oliver Slow
Live reporter

Image source, EPA

It has been more than 24 hours since the earthquake struck Myanmar and it remains difficult to build an accurate picture of what the situation is there, particularly in the areas worst affected.

We are working closely with our BBC Burmese colleagues (not all who are based in Myanmar due to the difficulties faced by journalists there), while also trying to speak to officials, residents and journalists that are operating on the ground.

I was a journalist in Myanmar before the 2021 military coup, and it was a challenging place to work from then, but has only grown more so since amid widespread conflict, economic turmoil and a crack down on media and dissenting voices.

Internet is heavily restricted, with internet speeds slow even before the earthquake destroyed much of the country’s infrastructure – the scale of which is still not clear.

The military - headed by Senior General Min Aung Hlaing - who is facing an International Criminal Court arrest warrant – has also been accused of weaponising internet shut downs to stifle what is widespread resistance to military rule.

Journalist safety is also an issue, with reporters facing the risk of torture, arrest or murder, according to Reporters Without Borders.

At least four journalists have been killed by the military since the coup, according to RSF, while 58 reporters are currently imprisoned.

Image source, Getty Images

The bodies of nine people have been recovered from the Sky Villa building in Mandalay, Myanmar, the region's fire services department says.

The building, situated close to the epicentre of the earthquake, collapsed as a result of the tremors in Myanmar yesterday.

In their statement, the fire services department says that "search and rescue operations are ongoing".

• As a reminder, more than 1,500 homes have been damaged in Mandalay. The latest death toll stands at over 1,600, with 3,408 people injured and 139 missing

Image source, Indian Foreign Ministry

The first batch of humanitarian aid from India has arrived in Myanmar this morning.

India's Foreign Minister S Jaishankar says it includes blankets, tarpaulins, hygiene kits, sleeping bags, solar lamps, food packets and kitchen sets.

He adds that a search and rescue team, along with medical staff, has also been sent.

The aid landed at an airport near Yangon, Myanmar's largest city.

A rescue team from India has also landed in the capital, Nay Pyi Taw, thought to be the first to land at the airport there since the earthquake.

As we've just reported, a 30-year-old woman has been rescued from beneath a collapsed apartment building in Myanmar.

Video from AFP taken at the scene show the mother of two being embraced by her husband before being taken to hospital.

You can watch the footage below.