A powerful earthquake rocked South-East Asia yesterday, killing several people, bringing down a skyscraper under construction in Bangkok and toppling buildings in neighbouring Myanmar, where the ruling junta declared a state of emergency in some areas.
At least three people were killed in the town of Taungoo in Myanmar when a mosque partially collapsed, witnesses said, while local media reported that at least two people died and 20 were injured after a hotel collapsed in Aung Ban.
In Thailand, at least one person was killed and dozens of workers were rescued from under the rubble of the skyscraper that had been under construction in Bangkok, Thailand’s National Institute of Emergency Medicine said.
Bangkok’s city authorities declared the capital a disaster-stricken area, saying they needed to assess and monitor damaged areas and assist people who might still be at risk.
In Bangkok, 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, witnesses said.
The United States Geological Survey (USGS) said the quake, which struck at lunchtime, was of 7.7 magnitude and at a depth of 10km. It was followed by a powerful aftershock.
The epicentre was about 17.2km from the Myanmar city of Mandalay, which has a population of about 1.5 million.
Myanmar’s ruling military declared a state of emergency in multiple regions.
“The state will make enquiries on the situation quickly and conduct rescue operations along with providing humanitarian aid,” it said on the Telegram messaging app.
Mandalay is Myanmar’s ancient royal capital and at the centre of the country’s Buddhist heartland.
Social media posts showed collapsed buildings and debris strewn across streets in the city.
One witness in the city said: “We all ran out of the house as everything started shaking. I witnessed a five-storey building collapse in front of my eyes. Everyone in my town is out on the road and no one dares to go back inside buildings.”
Another witness in the city, Htet Naing Oo, said that a tea shop had collapsed with several people trapped inside. “We couldn’t go in,” she said. “The situation is very bad.”
At least three people died after a mosque in Taungoo partially collapsed, two eyewitnesses said.
“We were saying prayers when the shaking started... Three died on the spot,” said one of two people.
Local media reported a hotel in Aung Ban, in Shan state, crumbled into rubble, with one outlet, the Democratic Voice of Burma, reporting two people had died and 20 were trapped.
Video and images posted by Myanmar Now showed a roof cratered at a market in the capital, Naypyidaw.
In Mandalay, the outlet’s images showed a clock tower had collapsed and part of the wall by Mandalay Palace was in ruins.
Witnesses contacted in Yangon, Myanmar’s largest city, said many people ran out of buildings.
One office tower in downtown Bangkok swayed from side to side for at least two minutes, with doors and windows creaking loudly, witnesses said.
Hundreds of employees filed out via emergency stairs as some shocked and panicked workers froze. Loud shrieks could be heard as the building continued to sway.
Outside, hundreds gathered in the afternoon sun, while staff with medical kits found office chairs for the elderly and people in shock.
China’s Xinhua news agency said strong tremors were felt in southwestern Yunnan province, which borders Myanmar, but there were no reports of casualties. — Reuters
