Rescue hopes fading three days after deadly Myanmar quake

AFP

Hopes were fading Monday of finding more survivors in the rubble of Mandalay, where some residents spent a third night sleeping in the open after a massive earthquake killed at least 1,700 people in Myanmar and neighbouring Thailand.

Rescue efforts were less active in the central Myanmar city of more than 1.7 million people early Monday, but conditions are difficult — with temperatures expected to reach around 40 degrees Celsius (104 Fahrenheit).

The sticky heat has exhausted rescue workers and accelerated body decomposition, which could complicate identification.