More than 150 have been confirmed dead in a powerful earthquake that struck Thailand and Myanmar this morning, destroying buildings, a bridge and a dam.
At least 144 people had been killed in Myanmar and 732 injured by the the 7.7 magnitude quake struck near Mandalay today, state-run MRTV said on the Telegram.
Preliminary reports confirmed at least eight people are dead in Bangkok, where a high-rise under construction collapsed, a Thai government official has confirmed.
The full extent of death, injury and destruction across the region is not immediately clear, with officials warning that thousands are feared dead.
‘The death toll and injuries are expected to rise,’ Senior Gen. Min Aung Hlaing, the head of Myanmar’s military government, said in a televised speech this evening.
The total number of fatalities is ‘most likely to be in the range 10,000-100,000’, scientists have warned, citing the United States Geological Survey ‘PAGER’ forecast.
The 7.7 magnitude quake, with an epicentre near Mandalay, Myanmar’s second largest city, struck at midday and was followed by a strong 6.4 magnitude aftershock.
The quake also hit Thailand, where rescuers in the capital Bangkok were searching in the rubble of a tower block that had been under construction and collapsed.
There were 117 people missing and five dead following the building collapse, according to the rescue operation. Crews are still pulling victims from the rubble.
Myanmar’s government has said that blood is in high demand in the hardest-hit areas.
The shallow tremor struck central Myanmar at 13.20 local time (6.50GMT), and was followed minutes later by a 6.4-magnitude aftershock.
The quake brought down multiple buildings, including the Ma Soe Yane monastery, one of the largest in Manadalay, and damaged the former royal palace.
Christian Aid said its partners and colleagues on the ground reported that a dam burst in the city, causing water levels to rise in the lowland areas in the area.
A rescue worker from the Moe Saydanar charity group told Reuters that it had retrieved at least 60 bodies from monasteries and buildings in Pyinmanar, near the capital city of Naypyidaw, and more people were trapped.
‘This 60 is only from my charity group and only at Pyinmanar town,’ he said.
Officials at a major hospital in Naypyidaw declared it a ‘mass casualty area’, with the death toll expected to rise after buildings fell and debris scattered.
‘I haven’t seen (something) like this before. We are trying to handle the situation. I’m so exhausted now,’ a doctor told the AFP news agency.
Myanmar’s military junta is locked in a struggle to put down insurgents fighting its rule, a situation that is likely to complicate the rescue and relief operation.
Professor Ian Main, Personal Chair in Seismology and Rock Physics, School of GeoSciences, at the University of Edinburgh said: ‘The damage is likely to be very severe near the epicentre- based on the estimated intensity of ground shaking above, and maps of population density and vulnerability of buildings.
The force caused a mosque in Mandalay to collapse, with at least ten worshippers reported to have been killed.
More than 20 children are also believed to be trapped in a destroyed school in Taungoo, central Myanmar.
Shocking footage showed workers fleeing in neighbouring Thailand as a 30-storey high-rise building under construction in Bangkok collapsed around them.
At least three people were killed as the skyscraper toppled. Local authorities said that dozens of workers have been rescued from the site, though 90 are still missing.