A strong 7.7 magnitude earthquake struck Myanmar on Friday, causing officials to declare a state of emergency in Myanmar and Bangkok, the capital of neighbouring Thailand.
At least three people were killed and 90 construction workers remain missing after the quake caused a 30-storey building in the capital to collapse in Bangkok’s Chatuchak Park area.
Seven were rescued from the rubble of the collapsed building, the National Institute for Emergency Medicine said in a Facebook post.
A video circulated on social media showed the multi-story structure sway and crumble into a cloud of dust as onlookers screamed and ran.
Thai authorities have declared a state of emergency in response to the major earthquake hitting the city, Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra said on Friday.
The US Geological Survey (USGS) said the earthquake was shallow with a depth of 10 kilometres. Its epicentre was near the Burmese city of Sagaing, close to Mandalay.
A second quake, with a magnitude of 6.4, shook the area 12 minutes later.
State of emergency in Myanmar
In Myanmar, state-run MRTV said the the military-run government declared a state of emergency across six regions and states.
There were no immediate casualties reported in the country, where many areas are not easily accessible and the government is embroiled in civil war after a coup in 2021.
The Red Cross said initial reports from the ground suggested the earthquake caused “significant damage”, adding that damaged power lines were preventing their teams from reaching the affected Mandalay and Sagaing regions.
Photos and videos showed the earthquake damaged part of the former royal palace and buildings near its epicentre in Mandalay.
A 90-year old bridge collapsed in the Saigaing region, as sections of the highway connecting Mandalay to Yangon were damaged.
The quake caused alarms to go off in buildings across Bangkok, and thousands of residents ran down the staircases of high-rise apartments and hotels onto the street. Videos on social media showed people gathering in the streets of the Thai capital.
The tremors were forceful enough to send water sloshing out of pools, some high up in high-rises, as the tremor shook.
Paul Vincent, a tourist visiting from England, was at a streetside bar when the quake struck.
“When I saw the building, oh my God, that’s when … it hit me,” he said. “There was people crying in the streets and, you know, the panic was horrendous really.”
Thai Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra warned Bangkok residents to remain calm as the city prepared an emergency response.
“I’d like to ask everyone to stay calm and do not panic, but please be careful,” Shinawatra said, warning that there could be possible aftershocks.
More than 17 million people live in the greater Bangkok area, many of whom are in high-rise apartments.
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