Myanmar holds minute of silence for more than 2,000 quake dead

Mandalay, Myanmar — Myanmar held a minute’s silence on Tuesday in tribute to victims of a catastrophic earthquake that has killed more than 2,000 people, buckling roads and flattening buildings as far away as Bangkok.

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Four days after the shallow 7.7-magnitude earthquake struck, many people in Myanmar are still sleeping outdoors, either unable to return to ruined homes or afraid of further aftershocks.

Sirens rang out at 12:51:02 (0621 GMT) -- the precise time the quake struck on Friday--bringing the country to a standstill to remember those lost.

Mandalay, the country’s second-biggest city with 1.7 million inhabitants, suffered some of the worst destruction.

Outside the Sky Villa apartment complex, one of the city’s worst-hit disaster sites, rescue workers stopped and lined up with hands clasped behind their backs to pay their respects.

Officials and attendants stood behind a cordon, watching relatives further back, as the sirens wailed and a Myanmar flag flew at half-mast from a bamboo pole tied to a rescue tent.