2 sisters & grandmother document experience of trying to escape apartment collapse after Myanmar earthquake

2 sisters & grandmother film themselves fighting their way through rubble after Myanmar earthquake

The catastrophic 7.7-magnitude earthquake that struck Myanmar on 28 March has left thousands injured or dead, with many still feared trapped beneath the rubble.

Among those caught in the devastation were two teenage sisters and their 75-year-old grandmother, who miraculously survived and documented their ordeal while awaiting rescue.

Their father took to Facebook on 31 March, sharing harrowing photos and videos recorded by his daughters as they lay trapped beneath the debris.

Grandmother & sister try to escape earthquake

In his post, the father revealed that his daughters, aged 13 and 16, were with their grandmother, who suffers from heart issues, when disaster struck.

His wife and son had just stepped out when the earthquake hit, causing the walls of their grandmother’s apartment to collapse. With blood running down her head, the elderly woman held onto her granddaughters as they attempted to escape using an emergency staircase.

But before they could make it out, the entire building crumbled, trapping them beneath the wreckage.

The girls described their surroundings as pitch dark and filled with dust, unable to see each other as heavy debris pressed against their bodies.

Girls use metal rod & SOS sign to call for help

Despite the suffocating conditions, the girls managed to record videos on their phones, capturing their desperate attempts to signal for help.

One clip shows one sister banging a metal rod against the rubble in hopes that someone would hear.

They also used the dust to write “SOS” on the rubble around them.

Father uses hammer to create hole for daughters

A rescue team eventually heard their cries for help, but it took them several hours to gather the necessary equipment for extraction.

The father, desperate to save his family, requested a hammer, which he used to break through some of the rubble, creating a small hole for his daughters.

Though the girls attempted to widen the gap, they were too weak to break free on their own.

A while later, the rescue team returned with reinforcements and successfully evacuated the sisters and their grandmother.

The father later confirmed that his mother had been discharged from the hospital, and expressed overwhelming relief that his loved ones had made it out alive.

He thanked his daughters and mother for their strength and resilience, and expressed his deepest gratitude to the rescue workers:

‘Thank you to all the rescue teams who worked tirelessly until dawn to help.”

Also read: SCDF rescuers find no survivors after 36-hour search across 8 sites in aftermath of Myanmar earthquake

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Featured image adapted from U Naung on Facebook and Facebook.