At least 144 people have been killed and 730 others injured in Myanmar following a powerful earthquake, according to the head of the country’s military government.
“The death toll and injuries are expected to rise,” Senior General Min Aung Hlaing said on television.
The 7.7 magnitude quake struck around 12.50pm local time (6.20am UK time) on Friday at a shallow depth of six miles, with the epicentre about 10 miles from the second city of Mandalay.
There were also aftershocks, with one measuring a strong 6.4 magnitude 12 minutes later.
Neighbouring Thailand was also rocked by the earthquake, with eight people killed in the capital Bangkok, after a 33-storey skyscraper, which had been under construction, collapsed.
Rescuers searching through the rubble of the tower block for survivors have said more than 100 people were missing.
Footage showed the high-rise in the Chatuchak area crashing to the ground as people ran away from the scene.
In Myanmar, buildings in five cities and towns collapsed, along with a railway bridge and a road bridge on the Yangon-Mandalay Expressway, state media reported.
Images showed the destroyed Ava Bridge over the Irrawaddy River, with its arches leaning into the water.
A rescue worker from the Moe Saydanar charity group said it had retrieved at least 60 bodies from monasteries and buildings in Pyinmanar, near the capital Naypyidaw, and more people were trapped.
‘Building collapsed in front of my eyes’
“We all ran out of the house as everything started shaking,” a Mandalay resident said.
“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.”
