Myanmar's deadliest natural disaster in years has strengthened the position of ruling general, Min Aung Hlaing, by opening diplomatic channels closed for four years after his junta ousted an elected government to unleash a brutal civil war.

It remains unclear whether the cease-fire would be honored. It comes a day after soldiers fired at a Chinese Red Cross aid convoy, and amid multiple airstrikes.

Officers questioned four Chinese men who were found removing 32 files from containers behind the collapsed building, a police official said.

A U.S. team has yet to arrive in Myanmar after last week’s 7.7-magnitude earthquake, while China has already rescued six people and committed $14 million in humanitarian aid.

BEIJING (Reuters) - The death toll in the Myanmar earthquake has reached 2,886, with 4,639 injured and 373 missing, China's state-run Xinhua reported on Wednesday, citing Myanmar's state administration council information team.

"We were in fear for our lives," the woman said, noting that she phoned her family at one point to "say my goodbyes."