A man who witnessed the earthquake which rocked Myanmar spoke to Reuters on Sunday, described his fear during it and the desperation of the destruction it has caused.

Tourist Ravil Nasretdinov said that a large number of high-rise buildings had collapsed, the first one he and his friend saw was a seven-storey condominium with people’s voices coming from the rubble. Nasretdinov added that people weren’t allowed in hotels, because everyone was afraid of fresh tremors, and the whole city of Mandalay was just sleeping on the street as there was no electricity and communication.

The toll from Myanmar’s earthquake continued to rise on Sunday, as foreign rescue teams and aid rushed into the impoverished country, where hospitals were overwhelmed and some communities scrambled to mount rescue efforts with limited resources.

The 7.7-magnitude quake, one of Myanmar’s strongest in a century, jolted the war-torn Southeast Asian nation on Friday (March 28), leaving around 1,700 people dead, 3,400 injured and over 300 missing as of Sunday, the military government said.

The junta chief, Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, warned that the number of fatalities could go up and his administration faced a challenging situation, state media reported, three days after he made a rare call for international assistance.

India, China and Thailand are among Myanmar’s neighbours that have sent relief materials and teams, along with aid and personnel from Malaysia, Singapore and Russia.