At least 144 people were killed in Myanmar, where photos and video from two hard-hit cities showed extensive damage. At least eight died in the Thai capital of Bangkok, where a high-rise under construction collapsed.
An Indian tourist described the terrifying moments after a massive earthquake jolted parts of Thailand, including the capital city of Bangkok.
Sanjiv Dutta, a passenger who arrived in India from Bangkok, recounted his experience, saying, “My bed started shaking when the earthquake took place. After I woke up, I saw that the building was trembling. Later, I saw people running in panic.”
“I came to the ground floor from the seventh floor and waited there for some time. There was huge traffic. It took 5-6 hours to cover 30 kilometres…” he added.
Another passenger, Safdar told ANI, “I was on the road at that time. I saw some skyscrapers shaking. There was water coming out of an infinity pool. People were scared that the building might collapse, but nothing like that happened. Public transport were shut for some hours…”
“The situation is normal right now, but when it happened, there was an emergency situation. Malls and offices were evacuated. The Metro rail system was shut…” a passenger Ranjan Banerjee said.
A 7.7 magnitude earthquake rocked Myanmar and neighboring Thailand on Friday. The quake’s epicenter was located at 96.07°E, 21.93°N, near the Sagaing region in central Myanmar. A second quake, with a magnitude of 6.4, shook the area 12 minutes later.
The US Geological Survey and Germany’s GFZ centre for geosciences said the earthquake was a shallow 10 kilometres, according to preliminary reports. Shallower earthquakes tend to cause more damage.
The tremors were so intense that they reached Bangkok, where residents felt strong shaking.
At least 144 people were killed in Myanmar, where photos and video from two hard-hit cities showed extensive damage. At least eight died in the Thai capital, where a high-rise under construction collapsed.
The full extent of death, injury and destruction was not immediately clear, particularly in Myanmar, one of the world’s poorest countries. It is embroiled in a civil war and information is tightly controlled.
The head of Myanmar’s military government said in a televised speech on Friday evening that at least 144 people were killed and 730 others were injured. “The death toll and injuries are expected to rise,” Senior Gen Min Aung Hlaing said.
