Sawt Falasteen - Tears, prayers in search for monks trapped by Myanmar quake

A rescue worker gently brushes some of the grey powder off the face before covering it respectfully with a fan. Under another concrete slab, flies crawl over a shaven head matted with blood.

The rotting odour of death permeated the air above the remains of the U Hla Thein monastery on Sunday, 48 hours after the shallow 7.7-magnitude earthquake struck, destroying buildings across the central Myanmar city.

More than 180 monks were taking the third session of a six-day exam for a senior level of monkhood when the tremors hit around 12:50 pm (0620 GMT) on Friday.

A picture shows them sitting on pink plastic chairs at individual desks in the cavernous hall, heads diligently bent over their papers as they worked.

An unknown number were able to escape as the three levels of one part of the building slammed down, one on top of another.

On Friday and Saturday a total of 21 people were rescued alive, and 13 bodies had been recovered by Sunday morning, a co-ordinator said.

It was impossible to say how many more lay crushed in the concrete, but it could be dozens.

Farmer Kyaw Swe's son Seikta was taking the exam at the time and was among the missing.

He became a novice at the age of nine and has been in the monkhood for 31 years.

"I am hoping he is alive," Kyaw Swe told AFP, a tear trickling down his cheek. "His mother is very sad.

"If it is your time to die, you can not avoid it. If you can abide by the Dhamma (Buddhist scripture), you will find some relief but if you can't you will be tormented."

- 'It's meant to be' -

Novices, monks and relatives of the missing, many of them wearing surgical masks, peered through the hall as rescue workers used jackhammers to break up the pancaked mass of concrete.

Two people had been detected alive in the wreckage, one rescue officer said, and they were working to free them.

Cracks run through the still-standing but damaged structure of the rest of the building, and every sudden sound sent rescuers and onlookers sprinting away for fear of a collapse.

San Nwe Aye, 60, whose brother was administering the exam, said she hoped he would not be tormented by thoughts of his family while trapped.

"I want to hear the sound of him preaching," she said. "He has such a great voice. I feel happy whenever I see him."

Bhone Thuta, 31, who has been a monk for 18 years, said the devotees' religious study taught them acceptance.

"This happens because it's meant to be. You can't blame anyone," he told AFP.

"In Buddhism, we believe it's because of our karma from our past lives. We are merely repaying our debts. Only Buddha knows what will happen and this is a debt we have to repay."

C.Hamad--SF-PST