Myanmar declares week of mourning as hopes fade for quake survivors

AFP

Myanmar’s ruling junta declared a week of national mourning on Monday for the country’s devastating earthquake, which has killed more than 1,700 people, as hopes faded of finding more survivors in the rubble of ruined buildings.

National flags will fly at half-mast until April 6 “in sympathy for the loss of life and damages” from Friday’s massive 7.7-magnitude quake, the junta said in a statement.

The announcement came as the tempo and urgency of rescue efforts wound down in Mandalay, one of the worst-affected cities and the country’s second-largest, with more than 1.7 million inhabitants.