Up to 100,000 people are feared dead after a mega 7.7 magnitude earthquake hit Myanmar near the city of Mandalay, with tremors felt as far as the UK tourism hotspot of Bangkok, Thailand.
The US Geological Survey forecast likely losses to be anything from 10,000 to 100,000.
The quake caused a 30-storey skyscraper in Bangkok to collapse, killing two and trapping at least 43 people.
People have been heard calling for help from within the rubble.
The earthquake has caused devastation across South-East Asia
REUTERS
Hundreds of people in the Bangkok have been evacuated after a massive earthquake hit Myanmar
REUTERS
At least 10 worshippers were reported to have been killed in a mosque in Mandalay, and over 20 children are feared to be trapped in a destroyed school in the city of Taungoo, in the centre of the country.
Social media footage showed water spilling out of pools in the Thai capital.
According to the United States Geological Survey, a 6.4 magnitude aftershock was felt in the city around 12 minutes later.
Footage has shown collapsed buildings and debris on the street.
A resident of the city Chiang Mai said: “I heard it and I was sleeping in the house, I ran as far as I could in my pyjamas out of the building.”
Witnesses have said people including many hotel guests in bathrobes and swimsuits ran out into the streets.
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There have been reports of people stuck under the rubble of a collapsed building in the Chatuchak are of Bangkok
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According to Beijing's quake agency, tremors were also reportedly felt in China’s southwest Yunnan province measuring 7.9 in magnitude.
According to a post on X, the Thai Prime Minister, Paetongtarn Shinawatra, said she interrupted an official visit to Phuket to hold an “urgent meeting” after the quake.
The PM declared Bangkok an "emergency zone" and advised people to evacuate tall buildings because of possible aftershocks.
Injured people are being treated outside of the hospital in Naypyidaw, the capital of Myanmar. Meanwhile, people are being evacuated from other hospitals.
Injured people are being treated outside of the hospital in Naypyidaw, the capital of Myanmar. Meanwhile, people are being evacuated from other hospitals
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The hospital has 1,000 beds, and its emergency department has been severely damaged, with a car crushed beneath the heavy concrete of its collapsed entrance.
A doctor at the hospital said: “Many injured people have been arriving, I haven’t seen anything like this before.”
“We are trying to handle the situation. I’m so exhausted.”
Meanwhile, Myanmar has requested foreign aid.
A doctor at the hospital said: 'Many injured people have been arriving'
REUTERS
Junta leader Min Aung Hlaing visiting a hospital in Naypyidaw, where victims of the 7.7-magnitude quake were being treated.
Junta spokesman Zaw Min Tun said: “We want the international community to give humanitarian aid as soon as possible.”
The United States Geological Survey has said that buildings in Myanmar and Thailand are especially vulnerable to the effects of the quakes.
They said: "Overall, the population in this region resides in structures that are vulnerable to earthquake shaking, though resistant structures exist.”
Earthquakes are common in Myanmar
Collapsed building
"The predominant vulnerable building types are informal (metal, timber, GI etc.) and unreinforced brick masonry construction."
Earthquakes are common in Myanmar.
In 2016, a powerful 6.8-magnitude earthquake struck the ancient capital of Bagan in central Myanmar, claiming the lives of three people and causing the collapse of spires and the crumbling of temple walls at the popular tourist site.
