Entering the disaster area - Lang Son Newspaper and Radio and Television

My first trip to Myanmar was not a journey to discover new things but to join the rescue team of The Vietnam People's Army (VPA) carries out a mission to support a country that has just witnessed a disaster. terrible earthquake

The first person we met upon landing at the airport was the Governor of Yangon, Mr. U Soe Thein. During a conversation with the Head of the Vietnam People's Army Delegation participating in the earthquake relief efforts in Myanmar - Major General Pham Van Ty, the Governor of Yangon thanked Vietnam for promptly sending forces to support Myanmar in overcoming the consequences of the earthquake and emphasized that this demonstrated the good feelings between the two countries and peoples.

Urgent search for victims trapped under the rubble.

It seemed like he had a lot more to share, but knowing that we were impatient to get to the mission site, he once again thanked us and quickly sent the group off. Three 45-seat vehicles carrying the military and police rescue team, a total of more than 100 people, hurriedly drove through the night towards the capital Naypyidaw. The journey from Yangon to Naypyidaw was nearly 500km. Looking through the car window, both sides of the road were pitch black, occasionally there was light from the headlights of oncoming vehicles, but it only flashed for a split second and then went out. That scene made Vietnamese friends who had just arrived in Myanmar imagine what this country was going through after the earthquake: pain, loss and many affected areas were still in darkness.

Deploy sniffer dogs to detect locations with vapor sources.

After more than 3 hours of driving, the group stopped at a roadside rest stop, the time announced by the group leader was 10 minutes for both dinner and personal hygiene. This place looked no different from the rest stops in Vietnam with small stalls selling all kinds of goods, but there were more snacks. Colonel Dao Van Duy, Vietnamese Defense Attaché, who studied for 3 years and now continues to work in Myanmar, said we could try something, but did not forget to remind us that Vietnamese people who have just arrived in Myanmar will find it difficult to adapt to the food here. Of course, that was not a big problem. On the flight from Hanoi to Yangon, knowing that the military and police rescue force had just arrived in Myanmar, and the travel time was urgent, Vietjet Air prepared a lunch box for each member of the group to take along the way.

As the group was about to leave, a young man, probably a local, took the initiative to talk to the group of military reporters. He spoke at length, but when he realized we did not speak Burmese, he just kept repeating: "Mandalay, Mandalay...". The reporters looked at each other and nodded in unison. Mandalay was the city at the epicenter and also the place that suffered the most damage in the earthquake on March 28. Perhaps the young man mentioned Mandalay because he knew that our group had come here to help his country overcome the consequences of the earthquake.

Coming to Naypyidaw, one can feel the extent of the devastation caused by the earthquake the day before, especially when seeing cracks on the wide roads in the downtown area and when going deeper into the Bala Tidi area of Zabu Thiri district. There are many 3-4 storey buildings here, built in the style of villas, but most of them have partially or completely collapsed due to the impact of the 7.7 magnitude earthquake a few days ago. In front of each house, people put all kinds of belongings they found after the disaster. Every so often, you can see a makeshift tent set up by the roadside.

Vietnam People's Army rescue team donates dry food to support earthquake victims.

In Bala Tidi, I met an old woman sitting motionless on a dusty chair, her eyes staring blankly at her completely destroyed house. Upon asking, I learned that she had a 33-year-old daughter who had been missing since the earthquake. Only when the rescue team arrived did her eyes seem to flash with hope. A rescue coordinator from Myanmar told us that in Bala Tidi there were many people waiting for their loved ones in the same situation. That was also the reason why the Vietnamese team chose this area as the first place to launch the search.

After a long journey, we arrived in Naypyidaw, but the mission to support people in the earthquake disaster area has just begun...

Source: https://baolangson.vn/di-vao-vung-tham-hoa-5042748.html