Thailand and Myanmar residents describe horror after earthquake

People in Myanmar and Thailand have been talking about their shock and horror after a powerful 7.7-magnitude earthquake struck on Friday, toppling buildings across the two countries.

A resident in Yangon, Myanmar’s largest city, told the BBC the shakes were “quite intense” and lasted for around four minutes.

Speaking to the BBC World Service’s Newsday programme, the man, who wished to stay anonymous for security reasons, described waking from a nap to the building shaking violently.

“It lasted around three to four minutes”, he told the BBC, “I was receiving messages from friends and realising that it was not just in Yangon, but also many places across the country.”

The tremors, felt across Thailand and as far as China, caused a 30-storey skyscraper to collapse in the Thai capital Bangkok, trapping 43 workers under the rubble.

Residents ran into the streets as buildings shook and water splashed from rooftop swimming pools.

Sirinya Nakuta told Reuters she was in her apartment with her children when the earthquake struck: “It didn’t stop. I heard things falling down from upstairs like stones hitting on us. I told my kids, we can’t stay here and we have to get out of here. So we ran down.”

Worapat Sukthai, deputy police chief of Bang Sue district, told the French news agency AFP that he could hear the sound of people screaming under the tower block collapse.

He said: “When I arrived at the site, I heard people calling for help, saying ‘help me’. We estimate that hundreds are injured, but we are still determining the number of casualties.”

As the scale of destruction emerged, Myanmar officials declared a “mass casualty area” at Nay Pyi Taw General Hospital, where patients lay on gurneys outside, intravenous drips hanging from makeshift stands.

The military junta that has ruled Myanmar since its 2021 coup made a rare appeal for international assistance, declaring a state of emergency across six regions.

Junta chief Min Aung Hlaing was seen visiting Nay Pyi Taw hospital. He pleaded for foreign assistance: “We want the international community to send humanitarian aid as soon as possible.”

Access to information in the military-ruled country is difficult. Internet use is also restricted. Communication lines also appear to be down as the BBC has been unable to get through to aid agencies on the ground.

In Bangkok, where metro and rail services were suspended, Zsuzsanna Vari-Kovacs described evacuating a restaurant. She said: “I was waiting for the bill and suddenly I started feeling the earth shake. At first, I thought it was just me, but then I saw everyone looking around. We ran outside immediately.”

Deborah Punmachet was checking her phone when her chair suddenly toppled over. She said: “I was in my La-Z-Boy [a recliner] and all of a sudden it moved back and forth. Then it flipped over and I hit my head on a table.”

Bui Thu, a BBC journalist who lives in Bangkok, said it had been at least a decade since the country experienced a powerful earthquake like it.

In Mandalay, Myanmar’s second-largest city, social media images showed collapsed buildings, including parts of the historic royal palace. A 90-year-old bridge crumbled, while sections of the main highway linking Yangon to the city were torn apart.

The United States Geological Survey has issued a “red alert”, warning that “high casualties and extensive damage are probable”. The death toll remains unknown, but the USGS estimates it could be in the thousands.