Man rescued from rubble after 108 hours

BANGKOK — Rescue workers in Myanmar pulled out a 26-year-old man, alive, from the rubble of a hotel in Nay Pyi Daw early on Wednesday, even as most teams were finding only bodies five days after a massive earthquake hit the country.

Using an endoscopic camera to pinpoint Naing Lin Tun's location in the rubble and confirm that he was alive, the man was gingerly pulled through a hole jackhammered through a floor and loaded onto a gurney nearly 108 hours after he was trapped in the hotel where he worked.

Shirtless and covered in dust, Naing Lin Tun appeared weak but conscious in a video released by the local fire department, as he was fitted with an IV drip and taken away. State-run MRTV reported that the rescue in the capital was carried out by a joint Myanmar-Turkish team and took more than nine hours.

The magnitude 7.9 earthquake hit midday on Friday, toppling thousands of buildings, collapsing bridges and buckling roads. The death toll rose to 3,003 on Wednesday, with more than 4,500 people injured, MRTV reported. Local reports suggest much higher figures.

The earthquake also rocked neighboring Thailand. One body was removed from the rubble early on Wednesday, raising the death toll in Bangkok to 22, with 34 injured.

Countries have pledged millions in assistance to help Myanmar, and humanitarian aid organizations faced with the monumental task ahead.

Australia said on Wednesday it was providing another $4.5 million, in addition to $1.25 million it had committed earlier, and had a rapid response team on the ground.

India has flown in aid and sent two navy ships with supplies as well as providing some 200 rescue workers.

Many other countries have sent teams, including a 212-strong team from Russia and a 122-member team from the United Arab Emirates.

A three-person team from the United States Agency for International Development arrived on Tuesday to determine how best to respond given limited US resources resulting from the slashing of the foreign aid budget and dismantling of the agency as an independent operation.

Washington said over the weekend that it would provide $2 million in emergency assistance.

Agencies via Xinhua