At least two people dead and ‘unknown number’ under Bangkok skyscraper rubble, say Thai emergency responders
Thai emergency responders say two people have been found dead and an unknown number of others are still under the rubble of a building that collapsed after a massive earthquake hit the capital, Bangkok.
Rescue worker Songwut Wangpon told reporters another seven people had been found alive, as he spoke outside the tall pile of rubble that was once a high-rise building under construction, according to the Associated Press (AP).
The multistory structure collapsed after the 7.7 magnitude earthquake struck midday on Friday, sending the crane on top toppling to the ground and a massive plume of dust into the air.
Key events
Eight people have been killed and others are feared trapped after a construction building in Pyi Gyi Tagon township of Mandalay, Myanmar’s second largest city, collapsed at about 1 pm, an eyewitness told the Guardian.
“The whole of Mandalay city was affected by the earthquake. The rescue teams and hospitals are now overrun. We are managing with the resources we have in the neighbourhood,” an eye witness, who asked not to be named, said.
Two people, a middle aged man and an older woman, had died in the building collapse, he added.
Reporting by Esther J.
A state of emergency has been declared in six regions and states in Myanmar by the military-run government.
State run MRTV television said the government’s proclamation includes the capital Naypyidaw and Mandalay, after the earthquake and a strong aftershock, reports the Associated Press (AP)
Myanmar is in the midst of a civil war and many areas are not easily accessible and it was not immediately clear what relief efforts the military would be able to provide, reports the AP.
At least two people dead and ‘unknown number’ under Bangkok skyscraper rubble, say Thai emergency responders
Thai emergency responders say two people have been found dead and an unknown number of others are still under the rubble of a building that collapsed after a massive earthquake hit the capital, Bangkok.
Rescue worker Songwut Wangpon told reporters another seven people had been found alive, as he spoke outside the tall pile of rubble that was once a high-rise building under construction, according to the Associated Press (AP).
The multistory structure collapsed after the 7.7 magnitude earthquake struck midday on Friday, sending the crane on top toppling to the ground and a massive plume of dust into the air.
Myanmar junta asks for international aid after quake as six regions declare state of emergency
Myanmar’s ruling junta made a rare request for international humanitarian aid and declared a state of emergency across six regions after a powerful quake hit the country on Friday.
Agence France-Presse (AFP) reporters saw junta chief Min Aung Hlaing arrive at a hospital in Naypyidaw where injured people were being treated after the 7.7-magnitude earthquake hit central Myanmar.
Thai capital declared disaster area after quake, city hall says
Thailand’s capital has been declared a disaster area after a strong earthquake in neighbouring Myanmar, Bangkok city hall said on Friday.
The Bangkok governor has been placed in charge of coordinating the disaster response, it said, accoding to Reuters.
A strong earthquake in Myanmar has caused damage to many high-rise buildings in the Thai capital Bangkok, its governor said on Friday.
Chadchart Sittipunt said the number of buildings damaged was not yet known and inspections were under way. He urged people to be cautious, reports Reuters.
One person killed in skyscraper collapse in Bangkok, authorities confirm
Thailand’s National Institute of Emergency Medicine has said that at least one person was killed after a skyscraper under construction in Bangkok collapsed after the city was rocked by a strong earthquake.
Dozens of workers have been rescued from under the rubble of the skyscraper, they added.
Tremors were also felt in China’s south-west Yunnan province, according to Beijing’s quake agency, which said the jolt measured 7.9 in magnitude.
In Myanmar, a team of Agence France-Presse (AFP) journalists were at the National Museum in Naypyidaw when the earthquake struck.
The AFP team reported pieces fell from the ceiling as the building began shaking. Uniformed staff ran outside, some trembling and tearful, others grabbing mobile phones to try to contact loved ones, they said.
Roads nearby were buckled and broken by the tremors and the route to one of the city’s biggest hospitals was jammed with traffic. The hospital was a “mass casualty area” after the quake, officials said, according to AFP.
At the 1,000-bed hospital, the injured were being treated in the street outside, intravenous drips hanging from their gurneys, reports AFP.
State of emergency declared in Bangkok after quake, says Thai PM
Thai authorities have declared a state of emergency in Bangkok, prime minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra said on Friday after the city was hit by a major earthquake centred in Myanmar.
Damage was reported to buildings across Bangkok after the 7.7-magnitude quake, including a 30-storey under construction skyscraper that collapsed in the city’s north.
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