[SINGAPORE] OUE Healthcare announced that the Mandalay hospital building of Pun Hlaing Hospitals, which it owns a 40 per cent stake in, sustained damage after the massive earthquake that struck South-east Asia on Mar 28.
The damaged hospital in the city of Mandalay in Myanmar has since suspended operations. The company said that there have been no reported casualties based on the information it has received.
The healthcare group said in a bourse filing that the management of Pun Hlaing Hospitals has conducted a preliminary inspection following the earthquake, and confirmed that the hospital building in Mandalay had sustained some physical damage.
OUE Healthcare holds a 40 per cent stake in the joint venture companies that own, operate and manage Pun Hlaing Hospitals located in the Myanmar cities of Yangon, Mandalay and Taunggyi.
The hospital buildings in Yangon and Taunggyi were largely unaffected, the group said. They remain in operation despite being affected by an electricity shortage.
As communications have been “severely hampered” in the aftermath of the quake, given the extensive damage wrought in Mandalay, the group said it would only be able to ascertain the full extent of the impact of the hospital’s damage after more detailed assessments.
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It added that it will continue to monitor the situation and provide further updates as appropriate.
The powerful earthquake that struck Myanmar in the early afternoon on Friday had its epicentre close to the city of Mandalay in the country.
With an initial 7.7 magnitude followed minutes later by a 6.7 magnitude aftershock, its tremors devastated infrastructure and resulted in thousands of casualties.
One of the strongest earthquakes to hit the South-east Asian nation in a century, it comes as the country has been ravaged by around four years of civil war under junta rule.
The earthquake also affected neighbouring countries of Vietnam and Thailand, and caused a skyscraper under construction in Bangkok to collapse.
Shares of OUE Healthcare closed on Friday 4.2 per cent or S$0.001 higher at S$0.025, before the announcement.
