Collapsed bridges and buildings, shaking skyscrapers with water from infinity pools falling hundreds of feet to the ground, and panicked people running out onto the streets – scenes that followed a massive 7.7 earthquake in central Myanmar that led to tremors in northern Bangkok and southwestern China.
The earthquake struck 18km from the city of Sagaing in Myanmar at 12.50 pm Friday.
At least 20 deaths have been reported so far from Myanmar alone, where a 1,000-bed hospital has become a “mass casualty area”, news agency AFP said.
READ | 1000-Bed Myanmar Hospital Is “Mass Casualty Area” After 7.7 Quake
Mild tremors were also reported from Kolkata in Bengal and parts of Manipur, as well as Dhaka and Chattogram in Bangladesh, news agency PTI said. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has offered support.
Within minutes there were videos and photographs on X showing the impact in Bangkok, where a state of ’emergency’ has been declared, and in Myanmar. One scary video showed an under-construction skyscraper collapsing entirely. As many as 43 people are believed to be missing in that incident.
Over 40 construction workers are reported missing, following the collapse of an under construction high-rise building in the Thai capital of Bangkok, as a result of today’s 7.7 magnitude earthquake in Myanmar. pic.twitter.com/ydkbxExorf
— OSINTdefender (@sentdefender) March 28, 2025
Another showed the water from a skyscraper’s infinity pool literally thrown over the edge, and a third showed chandeliers bouncing about on the roof of a conference room at Bangkok’s Athenee Hotel.
WATCH: Strong earthquake hits Bangkok, sending pool water over edge of building pic.twitter.com/r8eUr1c2gX
— BNO News (@BNONews) March 28, 2025
From Myanmar, one video showed a two-floor residential building in Mandalay partially collapsed, held up only by the wall of the neighbouring structure.
Devastation across the city of Mandalay in Myanmar, as a result of today’s 7.7 magnitude earthquake, with dozens of buildings having collapsed as well as the Ava Bridge over the Irrawaddy River. pic.twitter.com/8YE8KsxXws
— OSINTdefender (@sentdefender) March 28, 2025
There are also reports an old bridge over the Irrawaddy River has collapsed.
READ | 7.7-Magnitude Quake In Myanmar, Strong Tremors In Bangkok, 20 Dead
A team of AFP journalists were at the National Museum in Naypyidaw when the earthquake struck and the building began shaking. Pieces fell from the ceiling and walls cracked, they reported, as uniformed staff ran outside, some crying and trying to contact family.
Earthquakes are relatively common in Myanmar, where six strong quakes of 7.0 magnitude or more struck between 1930 and 1956 near the Sagaing Fault, which runs north to south through the country.
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.
The impoverished nation has a strained medical system, especially in its rural states.
With input from agencies
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