Myanmar earthquake death toll passes 1,600, as Naypyidaw lets in international aid

Myanmar’s military regime let in hundreds of foreign rescue personnel on Saturday after an earthquake killed more than 1,600 people, the deadliest natural disaster to hit the impoverished, war-torn country in years.

Friday’s 7.7 magnitude quake, among the biggest to jolt the Southeast Asian nation in the last century, crippled airports, bridges and highways amid a civil war that has wrecked the economy and displaced millions.

The death toll in Myanmar climbed to 1,644, the regime in Naypyidaw said on Saturday, according to the BBC Burmese news service.