Mandalay, Myanmar  (AFP)—Residents scoured collapsed buildings Sunday searching for survivors as aftershocks rattled the devastated city of Mandalay, two days after a massive earthquake killed at least 1,700 people in Myanmar and at least 18 in neighbouring Thailand.

The initial 7.7-magnitude quake struck near the central Myanmar city of Mandalay early Friday afternoon, followed minutes later by a 6.7-magnitude aftershock.

The tremors collapsed buildings, downed bridges and buckled roads, with mass destruction seen in the city of more than 1.7 million people.

Tea shop owner Win Lwin picked his way through the remains of a collapsed restaurant on a main road in his neighbourhood early on Sunday, tossing bricks aside one by one.

“About seven people died here” when the quake struck, he told AFP.

“I’m looking for more bodies but I know there cannot be any survivors.”

A small aftershock struck in the morning, sending people scurrying out of a hotel for safety, following a similar tremor felt late Saturday evening.

And around 2:00 pm (0730 GMT), another aftershock — of 5.1-magnitude according to the US Geological Survey — sent people into the streets in alarm once again, temporarily halting rescue work.

Myanmar’s ruling junta said in a statement Sunday afternoon that about 1,700 people were confirmed dead so far, about 3,400 injured and around 300 more missing.

But with communications down in many areas, the true scale of the disaster remains unclear in the isolated military-ruled state, and the toll is expected to rise significantly.

At a destroyed Buddhist examination hall in Mandalay, Myanmar and Chinese responders worked to find buried victims on Sunday.

San Nwe Aye, sister of a 46-year-old monk missing in the collapsed hall, appeared in deep distress, and told AFP she has heard no news about his status.

“I want to hear the sound of him preaching,” she said. “The whole village looked up to him.”

At a collapsed apartment block in the city, rescuers thought they had saved the life of a pregnant woman trapped under rubble for more than 55 hours.

They even amputated her leg to free her, but after pulling her out they were unable to resuscitate her and she was pronounced dead.