Myanmar quake death toll rises to 2,056

The death toll from a major earthquake in Myanmar has risen to 2,056, the ruling junta said Monday, with more than 3,900 people injured.

A statement from a junta spokesperson said that 270 more people were still missing, three days after Friday's shallow 7.7-magnitude quake, reports AFP.

The quake destroyed buildings, downed bridges, and buckled roads across swathes of Myanmar, with massive destruction seen in Mandalay, the country's second biggest city and home to more than 1.7 million people.

However, Junta chief Min Aung Hlaing issued an exceptionally rare appeal for international aid on Friday, indicating the severity of the calamity. Previous military governments have shunned foreign assistance, even after major natural disasters.

The country declared a state of emergency across the six worst-affected regions after the quake, and at one major hospital in the capital, Naypyidaw, medics were forced to treat the wounded in the open air.