A powerful earthquake killed at least 144 people across Myanmar and Thailand on Friday, toppling buildings and bridges and trapping over 80 workers in an under-construction skyscraper in Bangkok.
The shallow 7.7-magnitude tremor hit northwest of the city of Sagaing in central Myanmar, and was followed minutes later by a 6.4-magnitude aftershock.
The quake’s devastation prompted a rare request for international aid from Myanmar’s isolated military junta, which has lost swathes of territory to armed groups. A state of emergency was declared across the six worst-affected regions.
At least 144 people in Myanmar were killed and 732 injured by a major earthquake that struck the country on Friday, state-run MRTV said on the Telegram messaging app.
Across the border in Thailand, three people were confirmed dead in the collapse of a skyscraper, with 81 more missing and believed trapped in the twisted metal and rubble of the under-construction building.
Myanmar looked to have borne the brunt of the quake, with hundreds of casualties flooding a hospital in the capital, Naypyidaw. The emergency department’s entrance had collapsed onto a car, with medics treating patients outside.
A hospital official ushered journalists away, saying: “This is a mass casualty area.”
“I haven’t seen [something] like this before. We are trying to handle the situation. I’m so exhausted now,” a doctor told AFP.
AFP reporters saw junta chief Min Aung Hlaing arrive at the hospital as the ruling military called for foreign help.
“We want the international community to give humanitarian aid as soon as possible,” junta spokesman Zaw Min Tun told AFP at the hospital.
The rare plea from the junta raises the prospect that damage and casualties may be on a large scale, with Myanmar’s medical system and infrastructure ravaged by four years of civil war.
The quake will further stretch Myanmar’s ruling military, which is fighting a civil war against an armed uprising. The junta declared a state of emergency in multiple regions but provided no specifics of damage or injuries.
“The state will make inquiries on the situation quickly and conduct rescue operations along with providing humanitarian aid,” it said on the Telegram messaging app.
The Red Cross said roads, bridges and buildings had been damaged in Myanmar, and there were concerns for the state of large dams.
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. Reuters could not immediately verify the posts.
The graphic map shows shakemap intensity near the region of Mandalay. — Reuters
A powerful 6.8-magnitude earthquake in the ancient capital Bagan in central Myanmar killed three people in 2016, also toppling spires and crumbling temple walls at the tourist destination.
