A powerful 7.7 magnitude earthquake turned high-rise buildings to rubble and sent people rushing out of their homes in Myanmar and Thailand on Friday.
At least 144 people have been killed and 730 people injured in Myanmar, the head of the country’s military junta said on Friday, as he warned that the toll was expected to rise.
In Thailand, Bangkok authorities have said at least 10 people have been killed, 16 wounded and 101 others missing at three construction sites, including at a high-rise building which collapsed.
The quake struck at a depth of 10km, about 17.2km from Myanmar’s second-largest city of Mandalay, according to the United States Geological Survey (USGS).
The midday temblor was followed by a strong 6.4 magnitude aftershock, and people in Bangkok evacuated from their buildings were cautioned to stay outside in case there were more.
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Three people died in Myanmar after a mosque partially collapsed, according to reports. The quake destroyed multiple buildings and damaged palaces in popular tourist areas of Myanmar – a country already affected by the ongoing civil war between the military and the armed rebel forces.
An officer from the Myanmar Fire Services Department told Reuters: “We have started the search and are going around Yangon to check for casualties and damage. So far, we have no information yet.”
Social media posts from Mandalay showed collapsed buildings and debris strewn across streets of the city. The colonial era Ava bridge which connected the Mandalay and Sagaing regions, collapsed into the Irrawady River shortly after the first jolt.
The quake brought down a skyscraper under construction in Bangkok, where at least eight people are reported to have been killed, with scores more missing. A rescue operation in underway to save dozens of trapped workers.
Witnesses in Bangkok said people ran out onto the streets in panic, many of them hotel guests in bathrobes and swimming costumes as water cascaded down from an elevated pool at a luxury hotel.
Water from high-rise rooftop pools sloshed over the side as they shook, and debris fell from many buildings as the long-lasting earthquake rattled the city.
According to Chinese media reports, the earthquake was also felt in China’s Yunnan and Sichuan provinces, and caused damage and injuries in the city of Ruili – which sits on the border with Myanmar.
Footage reported to have been captured in Ruili showed building debris littering a street and a person being wheeled in a stretcher toward an ambulance.
The shaking in Mangshi, a Chinese city some 60 miles northeast of Ruili, was so strong that people couldn’t stand, one resident told The Paper, an online media outlet.
Additional reporting by agencies
