A building collapsed in Bangkok, Thailand following a massive earthquake in Myanmar on Friday, March 28. Photo:
LILLIAN SUWANRUMPHA/AFP via Getty
At least three people have died in Bangkok, Thailand, after a 7.7-magnitude earthquake struck its neighboring country of Myanmar on Friday, March 28.
The United States Geological Survey (USGS) confirmed the earthquake had hit 16 km (just under 10 miles) northwest of the city of Sagaing, with a second 6.4-magnitude earthquake hitting 18 km (around 11 miles) south of the city around 12 minutes later, per the government agency’s website. Both had a depth of 10 km (around 6.2 miles).
Thai Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra declared Bangkok “an emergency zone,” per a Thai government X post, following the collapse of a building in the capital.
Fifty people were thought to have been inside an unfinished 30-story building near Chatuchak Park when it collapsed, with 43 construction workers still missing, the BBC reported, citing Thai authorities.
The Associated Press cited Thailand’s defense minister as stating that three people have been confirmed dead in the building collapse and that a further 90 people are missing.
A massive earthquake hit central Myanmar on Friday, March 28. SEBASTIEN BERGER/AFP via Getty
Video footage and photos shared by the BBC showed cracked roads and buildings that had been damaged in Myanmar’s capital Naypyidaw, as well as water spilling onto the street from a rooftop pool at a high-rise building in Bangkok.
Myanmar is in the middle of an ongoing civil war, and outlets including the BBC said it was having difficulty accessing information from the country. The publication added that the military junta that’s ruled the country since 2021 had declared a state of emergency in the regions of Sagaing, Mandalay, Magway, Bago, Easter Shan state and Naypyidaw, citing local media reports.
Per a Thai government X post, the country’s police chief has ordered “nationwide assistance.” It added that officers had been “evacuating people from unsafe buildings, aiding victims, and managing traffic,” and added that, “Police hospitals are on standby for emergencies.”
Fraser Morton, a tourist from Scotland, was shopping in a mall when he said, “All of a sudden the whole building began to move,” according to the AP.
“Immediately there was screaming and a lot of panic,” Morton added to the news agency. “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.”
“I got outside and then looked up at the building and the whole building was moving, dust and debris, it was pretty intense,” the tourist continued. “Lots of chaos.”
A massive earthquake hit central Myanmar on Friday, March 28. SAI AUNG MAIN/AFP via Getty
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Paul Vincent, visiting from England, said he saw water falling from the rooftop pool in the city, telling the AP, “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.”
Chiang Mai resident Sai, 76, was working at a minimart when the earthquake hit. “I quickly rushed out of the shop along with other customers,” he told the Bangkok Post. “This is the strongest tremor I’ve experienced in my life.”
