Pope Francis says for the victims of the earthquake in Myanmar and Thailand

Pope Francis, who is still in the process of recovering bilateral pneumonia in Santa Marta, his residence in the Vatican, where he was transferred after receiving the discharge of the Gemelli Polyclinic Hospital on Sunday, says for the victims of the earthquake in Myanmar (Burma) and Thailand.

“Pope Francis has concelebrated the Mass in the chapel adjacent to his room and has dedicated special sentences for the difficult situation in Myanmar and Thailand,” the Vatican press office reported.

The earthquake was recorded at 12:50 (local time) 10 kilometers deep and the epicenter stood about 17 kilometers from Mandalay (Myanmar), the second city of the Asian country with 1.2 million inhabitants, according to the United States geological service, which measures the seismic activity throughout the world.

The Military Board that holds power in Myanmar (Burma) declared this Friday the state of emergency in six areas of the country due to the damage caused by an earthquake of 7.7 degrees of magnitude on the Richter scale.

The earthquake that Myanmar has shaken has caused damage to the Cathedral of San José in the city of Taunggyi, in the center of the country, part of the territory of the state of Shan, as reported by the archdiocese of Taunggyi.

“We would like to inform our parishioners, that due to the damage caused inside the church of San José in the city of Taunggyi by today’s earthquake, religious services will be temporarily suspend Sir news.

Most of the affected people, explained the Burmese priest, “are currently in large cities, particularly in Naypyidaw, the capital, and in the city of Sagaing, where the epicenter has been identified.”

“As far as we know, there are many destroyed buildings and dozens of dead. But it is likely that the government never give the exact number of victims,” ​​he said.

The Birmano authorities have not yet made public the official figures of victims and damage, but firefighters are carrying out search operations both in Mandalay and Yangon.

Alarming news also arrives from Mandalay. After the earthquake, fires have been declared in the city. “We know there are people under the rubble,” said P. Ku.

“Because of the images we are receiving, we see buildings collapsing and people trying to rescue people from among the rubble with their own hands. It is a disaster,” he said.

In the diocese of Likaw, on the other hand, people have been living by the war in the jungle for four years and there are no buildings. “This earthquake hits a population already seriously proven for four years of civil war, extreme poverty and displacements,” explained the Burmese priest.

Meanwhile, the Military Board in power has requested international humanitarian aid. The head of the Military Board, Min Aung Hlaing, reached one of the main hospitals of Naypyidaw where the injured is being treated, even in the streets. According to the newspaper The Global Newlight of Myanmarthe earthquake caused the collapse of the old Sagaing bridge and several buildings in Mandalay, Nay Pyi Taw, Pyinmana, Aungban and Inle.

The damage also included the collapse of the Dotehtawadi bridge on the Yangon-Mandalay highway and parts of the Yangon-Mandalay highway, which caused the closure of some roads along the route.

The earthquake has also felt strongly in Bangkok (Thailand) where buildings and shops have been evacuated.