Myanmar earthquake latest: State of emergency declared as dozens trapped in collapsed buildings

Powerful earthquakes have caused widespread destruction across Myanmar and neighbouring Thailand today amid fears thousands could be killed as buildings collapsed with people still trapped inside.

Terrified crowds fled shopping malls in Bangkok while roads have buckled in Naypyidaw, close to the epicentre of the 7.7 magnitude quake.

Here’s what you need to know:

• The Myanmar junta has declared six states of emergencies across the country after a 7.7 magnitude earthquake was recorded and soon followed up with a second quake measuring 6.4.
• Officials are yet to confirm the number of fatalities but experts say thousands of deaths in Myanmar are likely given the scale of the earthquakes.
• Local media has reported at least ten people were killed when a mosque in Mandalay, Myanmar’s second largest city, collapsed during Friday prayers.
• In Bangkok, it is reported 43 construction workers are missing after the earthquake caused an unfinished 30-storey building to collapse
• Thai officials say the earthquake was felt in all regions of the country while tremors also impacted people in China with roads even buckling in Myanmar.
• Earthquakes are relatively common in Myanmar, where six strong quakes of 7.0 magnitude or more struck between 1930 and 1956 near the Sagaing Fault, which runs north to south through the centre of the country, according to the USGS

The devastation caused by Myanmar’s earthquake has also affected Bangkok’s traffic, with rows of cars held at a standstill as emergency services respond.

An English teacher in Bangkok said she thought she was going to faint when she felt the earthquake in her school’s corridors.

Amy Clayton, 26, described feeling dizzy when the tremors hit.

She told the BBC she had been walking towards a colleague when they asked: ‘Can you feel that?’

Seconds later, the fire alarms went off, and the school’s principal told everyone to evacuate through the speaker system.

Children were crying with some going on to have panic attacks, she added.

‘We were completely unprepared. We do all sorts of drills but never one for earthquakes.’

The video below, shared on X, shows water splashing in a swimming pool at the top of a condo, when earthquake tremors struck.

A Korean family were apparently viewing the property at the time.

‘At first, I thought I was just dizzy,’ the user wrote.

They are all now safe.

Firefighters in Myanmar are carrying out search and rescue operations across the country amid fears thousands of people have been killed by earthquakes.

The hunt for survivors in the rubble of collapsed buildings is under way with members of the public also helping .

Amnesty International has called for Myanmar’s military junta to allow ‘unimpeded access’ to all humanitarian organisations.

The military seized power in a coup in 2021, prompting widespread opposition from the public and plunging the country into civil war.

The leading forces have repeatedly been accused of blocking critical aid to areas of activity for its political opponents.

Earlier, the junta made a rare request call for international aid.

Amnesty International researcher Joe Freeman has stressed the importance of allowing freely flowing aid.

‘This earthquake could not come at a worse time for Myanmar. More than three million people remain internally displaced from armed conflict.

‘Over a third of the population will need humanitarian assistance this year.’

Mr Freeman warned that central Myanmar, believed to be the epicentre of the earthquake, has been ravaged by military air strikes and clashes between resistance groups and the military.

‘Myanmar’s military has a longstanding practice of denying aid to areas where groups who resist it are active,’ he said

‘It must immediately allow unimpeded access to all humanitarian organizations and remove administrative barriers delaying needs assessments.’

Pictured: Myanmar’s military chief Min Aung Hlaing (centre) gestures as earthquake survivors gather in the compound of a hospital in Naypyidaw

Tourists in Thailand could not believe their eyes as a powerful earthquake shook their hotel, triggering huge waves in an infinity pool as swimmers clung on to the wall in an attempt to ride out the violent tremors.

A British man is heard shouting ‘what the f**k’ as the water swells around a swimmer and across the floor of the rooftop sundeck.

The people in the pool are in a dangerous position as the waves become increasingly violent, with sunbeds abandoned as terrified holidaymakers moved away from the edge.

More dramatic video shows a swimming pool atop a luxury apartment being shaken by the quake as a young family watches on in horror.

The family, said to be Korean tourists, take shelter indoors with their young child as huge waves slosh against the windows and over the ledge from the infinity pool.

Images show firefighters preparing for a rescue operation after two people were reported injured in southwest China’s Yunnan province following the earthquake in Myanmar.

18:51

Footage shared on X shows rubble and toppled bricks at the site of a collapsed mosque in Myanmar.

The video was taken from outside the Shwe Phone Shein mosque in Mandalay, where fatalities were reported earlier in the day.

Muslims are currently observing Ramadan, with Eid – a celebration marking the holy month’s end – in just two days.

And Fridays in particular are a day of congregational prayer, with Muslim communities gathering at worship sites.

18:45

Chaotic scenes have played out across Myanmar and Thailand after powerful earthquakes struck earlier today.

An international school teacher in the Thai capital of Bangkok has told of the confusion felt by his classroom when they had to evacuate following the earthquake in neighbouring Myanmar.

Stewart Beyer, a music teacher at Berkeley International School, told CNN how the gravity of the situation only became apparent after he was ordered to evacuate the school.

I looked up to see a guitar swinging on the wall. And then we go outside and [saw] the pool sloshing around.

Mr Beyer said some of his students are from Myanmar.

There were students that when we were waiting for their parents to come and get them that are breaking down, wondering what is happening to their family.

Pictured: Berkeley International School in Bangkok

Thailand has ordered the closure of schools nationwide while authorities assess the damage wrought by the 7.7-magnitude earthquake from neighboring Myanmar.

Deputy prime minister Phumtham Wechayachai (pictured below) said such a disaster has ‘never happened in 100 years.’

‘The Ministry of Education has ordered the closure of all schools nationwide, instructing students to return home,’ he said.

People in high-rise buildings have been urged by Thai authorities ‘to evacuate immediately’ following the fatal collapse of a building in the capital Bangkok.

High-rise buildings are being inspected ‘with the utmost caution,’ said Wechayachai.

Hospitals have been urged to check for any structural damage.

The health and education ministries have coordinated relief efforts, and the defence ministry has established a command centre to keep government officials informed.

18:24

Rescue workers search for survivors in Bangkok

Workers in Bangkok have described today’s earthquake as the ‘strongest’ they have ever experienced as shocks were felt across all areas of Thailand.

In Chiang Mai, a popular tourist destination in northern Thailand, stunned residents fled shops and homes when power supplies were cut out.

‘I quickly rushed out of the shop along with other customers,’ said Sai, 76, who was working at a minimart in Chiang Mai when the shop started to shake.

‘This is the strongest tremor I’ve experienced in my life.’

Voranoot Thirawat, a Bangkok-based lawyer, said she heard her building creak moments after watching a light swinging back and forth

‘In my lifetime, there was no earthquake like this in Bangkok,’ she told the AP news agency.

Worapat Sukthai, deputy police chief of Bangkok’s Bang Sue district, said he heard people calling ‘help me’ as rescuers surveyed the tangle of rubble and twisted metal for a safe way to search for survivors.

He said it was likely hundreds are injured. Deputy Prime Minister Phumtham Wechayachai told reporters at least three workers had been killed, with 81 more trapped inside.

Several ministry buildings have collapsed in Myanmar’s capital city Naypyidaw, killing ‘many employees’, local media reports.

More than one government building, including the Foreign Ministry and the Ministry of Labor, collapsed in Naypyidaw following the earthquake in central Myanmar.

Many employees were killed, among them the Labor Secretary and some senior foreign officials, a military source in Nay Pyi Taw told Yangon Times.

Many others were injured due to the collapse of concrete blocks.

‘Many of the dead were employees. Some officers were also killed. Many were injured,’ said the source.

‘The ministry offices also collapsed. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs building was felled very badly. There is also some debris.’

Pictured above: Myanmar’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs

18:06

More images are coming in from Myanmar’s capital of split roads damaged by the quake.

18:04

A bridge near Mandalay International Airport reportedly collapsed while cars were being driven over it causing some to fall off, according to reports.

Local residents said the Duthawaddy Bridge which leads to the entrance to the airport buckled as a result of the earthquake earlier today.

One told the Yangon Times: ‘It is known that cars driving on the bridge have fallen. It is not yet confirmed if there are any injuries.’

Video has emerged on social media of a bridge collapsing in Myanmar’s seconfd largest city situated close to the epicentre of the initial 7.7 magnitude earthquake.

Buildings and public infrastructure have been damaged and collapsed as a result of the 7.7-magnitude earthquake in Myanmar, with concerns for state of large scale dams, the Red Cross said.

‘Public infrastructure has been damaged including roads, bridges and public buildings.

‘We currently have concerns for large scale dams that people are watching to see the conditions of them’, Marie Manrique of the Red Cross said via video link from Yangon.

‘We anticipate the impact to be quite large.’

It comes as local media reports the Paunglaung Dam in Myanmar’s capital Naypyidaw was damaged by the earthquake, caused cracks in its earthen walls.

Pictured: The Paunglaung Dam (from RCC Dams and the Global Energy Association)

Myanmar National Airlines has cancelled some flights following the devastating impact of the 7.7 magnitude earthquake that struck the country today, the airline has said on its Facebook page.

The airline wrote: ‘We deeply regret the inconvenience caused by the recent earthquake,which has affected your travel plans.

‘Our hearts go out to everyone impacted by this difficult situation.’

The Paunglaung Dam in Myanmar’s capital Naypyidaw was damaged by the earthquake, local media reports.

The powerful earthquake centered in Sagaing Region caused damage to the dam’s walls, which are reportedly cracked and damaged.

There are reports that water has started to flow from the dam, but Myanmar newspaper Yangon Times has not been able to confirm this.

‘Water has started to be released from the Paunglaung Dam into the Sittaung River, and the water level in the Sittaung River may rise,’ said an official from the Sittaung Urban Guerrilla Group.

The relevant authorities are advising that the cities along the Paunglaung Dam and the Sittaung River, including the capital, Pyay Mana, Ye Ni, Ye Tar Shay, Taungoo and Bago, need to be aware of a potential flood situation.

Pictured: Paunglaung Dam

Thailand’s defence minister says 90 people are missing and three are confirmed dead at the site where a high-rise building under construction collapsed when Myanmar’s earthquake hit the capital.

Phumtham Wechayachai gave no further information about the rescue efforts.

First responders have reported that seven people had been rescued so far from outside the collapsed building.

17:35

Local media in Myanmar is reporting the earthquakes have caused the air traffic control tower at Nay Pyi Taw airport in Myanmar to collapse, killing all staff on duty.

A military source in Nay Pyi Taw told the Yangon Times that the quake caused extensive damage throughout Nay Pyi Taw and there have been reports of fatalities.

However, it is difficult to get an exact count.

Myanmar-based news agency Khit Thit Media has also reported the tower’s collapse.

Mandalay and Nay Pyi Taw airports are now believed to be shut.

Three people been confirmed dead in Thailand’s capital after a magnitude 7.7 earthquake struck in neighbouring Myanmar, Bangkok’s governor has said.

Chadchart Sittipunt warned that aftershocks are still possible but urged people to remain calm, adding the situation was under control.

More than 160 calls have been made to authroities about damage to buildings in Bangkok, he said.

And urban rail systems in Bangkok are temporarily closed but expected to resume services on Saturday.

Above: Governor Chadchart Sittipunt (centre) pictured in 2024

Fire has broken out Mandalay University where the earthquake has caused significant disruption across the city.

The university, which specialises in science degrees, is the second oldest in the country.

Images shared on social media show the collpased Aungban Hotel in the northeastern Shan State in Myanmar.

Another grab shows a destroyed building in the aftermath of the earthquake.

17:09

The Red Cross has reported that its teams are trying to respond to ‘significant damage’ in Myanmar but are facing challenges due to a lack of power in the affected areas.

The humanitarian charity said electricity and network lines are down in the Mandalay and Sagaing areas, the BBC reported.

But the Red Cross says it’s continuing to gather information on ‘humanitarian needs’ and what aid is required following the devastating disaster.

Myanmar’s earthquake was felt in in China and caused injuries and damage to houses, according to Chinese media reports.

Strong tremors were felt in the Yunnan and Sichuan provinces and caused damage to houses in the city of Ruili on the border with northern Myanma

Videos reportedly from a person in Ruili showed building debris littering a street and a person being wheeled on a stretcher toward an ambulance.

The shaking in Mangshi, a Chinese city about 100 kilometers (60 miles) northeast of Ruili, was so strong that people couldn’t stand, one resident told The Paper, an online media outlet.

Pictured above: Rescuers work at the site of the quake-affected area in Ruili, Dehong Dai and Jingpo Autonomous Prefecture, Yunnan Province of China and a quake-damaged building in the region

Tourists in Bangkok have told how they saw people crying in the streets and ‘horrendous’ panic as the earthquake in Myanmar caused powerful shockwaves across Thailand including its capital.

Paul Vincent (pictured), a tourist visiting from England, was at a streetside bar when the quake struck.

The next thing, everybody came on the street, so there was a lot of screaming and panicking, which obviously made it a lot worse.

As he came onto the street himself, he said he saw a high-rise building swaying and water was falling from a rooftop pool.

When I saw the building, oh my God, that’s when … it hit me. There was people crying in the streets and, you know, the panic was horrendous really.

Medical workers are scrambling to transport injured people to a Naypyidaw hospital in Myanmar’s capital.

Images show hospitals overflowing with many of those affected waiting in outdoor compunds before they can receive medical assistance.

‘Hundreds of injured people are arriving but the emergency building here also collapsed,’ security officials at the hospital in Naypyidaw told AFP.

Some have arrived in cars, others in pickups, and others carried on stretchers, their bodies bloody and covered in dust.

Below are just a few of the images depicting the chaos and panic in Myanmar following the large-scale earthquake.

16:36

Myanmar’s ruling junta has made a rare request for foreign humanitarian aid after a state of emergency was declared across six regions.

Junta chief Min Aung Hlaing arrived at a hospital in Naypyidaw where injured people were reciving treatment following the 7.7-magnitude earthquake.

An emergency situation was declared in Sagaing, Mandalay, Bago and Magway regions as well as eastern Shan state.

Large sections of the country remain of out of the junta’s control as it battles insurgency fighters after seixing power in a 2021 coup.

16:30

These pictures illustrate the anguish and devastation of people after a powerful earthquake in Myanmar resulted in the collapse of buildings in neighbouring Thailand.

16:26

City authorities have now decalred Bangkok a disaster area following the high magnitude earthquake in neighbouring country of Myanmar, Bangkok city hall said.

The Bangkok governor has been ut in charge of navigating the disaster response, it said.

Pictured: People sit in front of a shop after a strong earthquake struck central Myanmar on Friday

Pictured: The debris of a construction site is pictured after a building collapsed in Bangkok

Pictured: Police stand next to the debris of a construction site after a building collapsed in Bangkok following an earthquake

Rescuers stand near a collapsed building in Bangkok

We’re hearing reports two people have been killed and seven rescued after a building collapse in Bangkok.

It comes as Thailand’s capital is declared a disaster area following a strong earthquake in neighboring Myanmar, Bangkok city hall said.

The Bangkok governor, Chadchart Sittipunt, has been placed in charge of coordinating the disaster response, it said

These pictures show how a hospital emergency department was damaged by the earthquake as scores of wounded casualties are treated outside.

Survivors are gathering in the compound of a hospital in Naypyidaw where some are receiving treatment to their injuries.

16:10

Thailand’s Department of Disaster Prevention has said the quake in Myanmar was felt in almost all regions of the country.

The epicenter of the earthquake was in central Myanmar, roughly 30 miles east of the city of Monywa.

In the capital Naypyitaw, the quake toppled religious shrines and some homes.

After an urgent meeting, the Thai prime minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra said she ordered the environmental ministry to predict the effects of the earthquake and prevent any aftershocks.

Pictured below: The Thai PM addresses the media, while standing next to her cabinet, after a weekly cabinet meeting at the Government House in Bangkok

16:06

Forty-three construction workers are missing after the 7.7-magnitude Myanmar earthquake felled an unfinished 30-storey building in Bangkok, Thai authorities say.

Fifty people were inside the Chatuchak Park building, which is hundreds of miles from the earthquake’s epicentre in Myanmar.

The number of missing people has been reported at 43, while seven others escaped.

‘When I arrived to inspect the site, I heard people calling for help, saying help me,’ Worapat Sukthai, deputy police chief of Bang Sue district, told AFP news agency.

The building was intended as government offices.

The military junta that has ruled Myanmar since a coup was orchestrated in 2021 have declared a state of emergency across six regions of the country in response to the earthquake.

Junta chief Min Aung Hlaing has reportedly arrived at a hospital in Naypyidaw which has apparently been designated a ‘mass casualty area’ aid growing fears of a major loss of life.

One official at the hospital told the AFP news agency that rows of wounded people were being treated outside the emergency department of the 1,000-bed general hospital with some writhing in pain.

The junta has made access to information difficult with all radio, television as well as print and online media controlled by the state while internet use is also restricted.

Just 12 minutes after the first earthquake hit Myanmar, another one struck, according to the US Geological Survey.

The second earthquake had a magnitude of 6.4, which is less than the earlier one of 7.7.

The epicentre was 18km (11.1 miles) south of Sagaing.

The US Geological Survey has written on its website that thousands of deaths in Myanmar are likely, given the apparent scale of the earthquake.

It wrote: ‘High casualties and extensive damage are probable and the disaster is likely widespread.’

It has issued a red alert, listing the affected countries as Bangladesh, India, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand and China.

The 7.7 magnitude earthquake struck central Myanmar at around 1.30pm local time (6:30am UK time).

It was soon followed up with a powerful aftershock measuring 6.4 magnitude .

The epicentre was located 16km (10 miles) north-west of the city of Sagaing at a depth of 10km and is close to the country’s second largest city Mandalay.

Strong tremors extended into Thailand and Yunnan in south-west China, with videos on social media showing damage to buildings in Bangkok.

Earthquakes are relatively common in Myanmar, where six strong quakes of 7.0 magnitude or more struck between 1930 and 1956 near the Sagaing Fault, which runs north to south through the centre of the country, according to the USGS.

At least ten people were killed when the earthquake struck Shwe Phone Shein mosque during prayers today, recsue workers told local media.

The mosque is said to have collapsed during worship and people are believed to be trapped.

The death toll could be much higher, a rescue worker helping with the mosque collapse said.

The news was reported by Myanamar-based news agency Khit Thit Media and the Yangon Times newspaper, as well as smaller media outlets.

The reports are as yet unconfirmed.

Passengers in Myanmar’s Mandalay Airport bent down to the ground to shield themselves from the 7.7-magnitude earthquake that steruck near the city, social media videos show.

Videos shared online show dozens of panicked passengers evacuating as airport alarm bells ring loudly following the natural disaster.

See the footage below:

Myanmar’s second largest city and former royal capital Mandalay has seen extensive damage owing to its proximity to the earthquake’s epicentre.

It has damaged part of the former royal palace and buildings, according to videos and photos released on Facebook social media.

While the area is prone to earthquakes, it is generally sparsely populated, and most houses are low-rise structures.

In the Sagaing region just southwest of Mandalay, a 90-year-old bridge collapsed, and some sections of the highway connecting Mandalay and Myanmar’s largest city, Yangon, were also damaged.

Residents in Yangon rushed out of their homes when the quake struck. There were no immediate reports of injuries or deaths.

In the capital Naypyitaw, the quake damaged religious shrines, sending parts toppling to the ground, and some homes.

A British tourist has told how he saw a Thai shopping mall moving after people fled in panic when the earthquake struck.

‘All of a sudden the whole building began to move, immediately there was screaming and a lot of panic,’ said Fraser Morton, a tourist from Scotland, who was in one of Bangkok’s many malls shopping for camera equipment.

I just started walking calmly at first but then the building started really moving, yeah, a lot of screaming, a lot of panic, people running the wrong way down the escalators, lots of banging and crashing inside the mall.

Like thousands of others in downtown Bangkok, Morton sought refuge in Benjasiri Park – away from the tall buildings all around.

He added:

I got outside and then looked up at the building and the whole building was moving, dust and debris, it was pretty intense. Lots of chaos.

Thailand’s Prime Minister, Paetongtarn Shinawatra, has reportedly declared a state of emergency in Bangkok following the earthquake.

It comes following an emergency meeting was held to assess the initial damage.

Thailand’s Department of Disaster Prevention said the earthquake was felt in almost all regions of the country.

According to local reports, at least 43 workers are trapped in one Bangkok skyscraper.

These pictures illustrate the scale of the damage caused by the earthquake with buildings completely destroyed in both Myanmar and Thailand.

Here are just a few images from both countries.

A damaged monastery is seen in Myanmar

Rescuers work at the site of a collapsed building in Bangkok

Damaged pagodas are pictured in Myanmar

Motorists pick up pieces of a damaged road in Naypyidaw, central Myanmar

Thailand’s capital Bangkok has been shaken by the earthquake with high-rise buildings swaying, while one apartment block has collapsed.

The greater Bangkok area is home to more than 17 million people, many of whom live in high-rise apartments.

Shocking video has shown the moment workers fled as a building under construction collapsed as it was shaken by the force of the quake.

Bangkok police confirmed that a high-rise building under construction had collapsed and said the number of possible casualties was not yet known.

Alarms went off in buildings as the earthquake hit around 1.30pm local time, and startled residents were evacuated down staircases of high-rise buildings and hotels in densely populated central Bangkok.

They remained in the streets, seeking shade from the midday sun in the minutes after the quake.

Hello and welcome to MailOnline’s live coverage as a strong earthquake rocks Myanmar.

Buildings have collapsed, roads have buckled and people have fled in terror with tremors felt in neighbouring Thailand and China.

The United States Geological Survey (USGS) said the quake was of 7.7 magnitude and at a depth of 10 km (6.2 miles). It was followed by a powerful aftershock.

The epicentre was about 17.2 km from the city of Mandalay, Myanmar’s second-largest, which has a population of about 1.5 million.

Stick with us as we bring you live updates on this breaking news story.