A 7.7 magnitude earthquake has struck Myanmar – with at least two dead and an unknown number of others trapped in a collapsed building after the impact was felt as far away as Bangkok.
Rescue worker Songwut Wangpon, speaking at the scene of a tall pile of rubble that was once a high-rise building under construction, told reporters another seven people had been found alive.
Footage shows the under-construction building in the Chatuchak area crashing to the ground as people run away from the scene.
Thailand’s National Institute for Emergency Medicine said before the deaths and rescues were confirmed that 43 people were trapped in the rubble.
Bangkok is around 560 miles from Mandalay – the Myanmar city which is around 12 miles from the epicentre of the quake that struck at a shallow depth of 6 miles.
A 6.4 magnitude aftershock was felt around 12 minutes later near Mandalay, the United States Geological Survey (USGS) said.
People look at the site of a collapsed building in Bangkok. Reuters
Rescuers work at the site of a collapsed building in Bangkok. Pic: Reuters
Eyewitness in Myanmar said at least three people had died after a mosque partially collapsed in the town of Taungoo in the Bago region.
It is one of the first details of the impact of the quake in Myanmar, which is in the middle of a civil war, to emerge since it struck at around 1pm local time (6.20am UK time).
Images have also emerged of a destroyed temple in the Myanmar capital Naypyidaw.
A temple in Naypyidaw, Myanmar, after the quake
A crumbled temple in Naypyidaw, Myanmar
Hundreds of people poured out of buildings in Bangkok after the tremors, with many buildings evacuated.
The city is home to 17 million people and many live in high-rise apartments.
Alarms went off in buildings as the earthquake hit around 1.30pm local time (6.30am UK time).
People in Bangkok being treated after an earthquake in Myanmar. Pic: AP
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Residents were evacuated down staircases of buildings and hotels in the densely-populated centre of the city.
They remained in the streets, seeking shade from the midday sun in the minutes after the quake.
Meanwhile all flights in and out of Bangkok are operating normally following the earthquake, the country’s civil aviation department said on Friday.
Thailand’s deputy prime minister has said no state of emergency has been declared in the city.
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