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A STRONG earthquake rocked Myanmar and it border region on Friday, bringing down a skyscraper under construction in Bangkok and toppling buildings in Myanmar’s second-largest city.
Reuters reported, Thailand's National Institute of Emergency Medicine saying today that at least one person was killed and dozens of workers rescued from under the rubble of the skyscraper.
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.
The United States Geological Survey (USGS) said the quake, which struck around noon, was of 7.7 magnitude and at a depth of 10 km (6.2 miles). It was followed by a powerful aftershock.
The epicentre was about 17.2 km from the city of Mandalay in Myanmar, which has a population of about 1.5 million.
There was no immediate word from Myanmar authorities on damage.
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, Myanmar's ancient royal capital that is at the centre of its Buddhist heartland, showed collapsed buildings and debris strewn across streets of the city.
One witness in the city told Reuters: "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, told Reuters that a tea shop had collapsed with several people trapped inside. "We couldn’t go in," she said. "The situation is very bad."
A third witness said a mosque in the city was badly damaged.
China's Xinhua news agency said strong tremors were felt in southwestern Yunnan province which borders Myanmar, but there were no reports of casualties.
Witnesses contacted in Yangon said many people ran out from buildings in the city, the largest in the country.
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 elderly and people in shock.
Thailand Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra said on Friday she had interrupted an official visit to the southern island of Phuket to hold an "urgent meeting" after the quake, according to a post on X, Bankok Post cited.
Meanwhile, The Stock Exchange of Thailand suspended all trading activities for the afternoon session on Friday after a strong earthquake struck neighbouring Myanmar, the tremors of which were felt in Thailand's capital, Bangkok.
"Following the earthquake incident, the Stock Exchange of Thailand hereby announces the immediate suspension of all trading activities," the bourse operator said on its website.
"The closure affects all markets, including SET, the Market for Alternative Investment (MAI), and the Thailand Futures Exchange (TFEX), for today's afternoon session." – March 28, 2025
