The Sky Villa condo in Mandalay is the worst-hit of the collapsed buildings. The condo is 12 stories high, with the bottom three stories collapsing in the earthquake and the remaining stories collapsing in aftershocks, leaving many dead and trapped. However, rescue efforts are only beginning today, so it is uncertain whether any survivors will be found.
Many Buddhist monks and Muslims have also died in the earthquake. Many monks and nuns from monasteries in the Sagaing Mountains, a religious area, were killed, while in Mandalay, some monks died when the collapse occurred while they were answering prayers. Friday is a day of prayer for Muslims, and the earthquake occurred during prayer time, causing mosques to collapse, killing many Muslims. The death toll has now surpassed a few thousand. International observers estimate that the death toll is between 10,000 and 100,000.
