Vietnamese rescue forces on Wednesday continued their search for missing victims of a devastating earthquake that rocked Myanmar on March 28 in an area where some 40 victims are believed to have been buried, according to the rescue team of the Ministry of National Defense.

As of now, the Vietnamese rescue team has located and handed over five bodies to the families and authorities in Myanmar, including one couple. 

The search efforts are still ongoing to increase the chances of saving other victims who are still trapped after the earthquake, which measured 7.7 on the Richter scale.

Earlier, at the Oattara Thiri Hospital in Naypyidaw, the capital of Myanmar, the Vietnamese rescue team received information that an area might have around 40 victims buried.

The team has accelerated their search and rescue operations with the cooperation of engineering units, military medical officials, and sniffer dogs.

Major General Pham Van Ty, deputy head of the Search and Rescue Department under the General Staff of the Vietnam People’s Army, emphasized that the rescue operation is being conducted with the utmost determination despite numerous challenges.

He noted that drilling and cutting through concrete carry a high risk of structural collapse, endangering the rescuers.

According to an official from the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), the destruction of the earthquake in Myanmar is unprecedented in over a century in Asia.

Marie Manrique, the Myanmar program coordinator of the IFRC, said there is now only a small chance of reaching the trapped victims.

Myanmar's junta chief Min Aung Hlaing stated that the death toll is expected to rise and could exceed 3,000 people.

As of Tuesday, the number of fatalities due to the earthquake in Myanmar had reached 2,719.

More than 1,000 foreign rescue workers have flown to Myanmar to assist.

Myanmar media reported that nearly 650 people have been freed from collapsed buildings across the country.

A delegation of 106 Vietnamese military and police personnel arrived in Myanmar on Sunday afternoon and commenced their relief efforts on Monday. 

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