A devastating earthquake hit Myanmar and Thailand on Friday, killing more than 150 people and injuring hundreds, with dozens trapped in collapsed buildings and the death toll expected to rise.
The 7.7-magnitude tremor hit at a shallow depth of 10 kilometres northwest of the city of Sagaing in central Myanmar in the early afternoon, and was followed minutes later by a 6.4-magnitude aftershock.
Buildings were flattened, bridges downed, and cracked roads across swathes of Myanmar, and even demolished a 30-storey skyscraper under construction hundreds of kilometres away in Bangkok.
While the full extent of the catastrophe is yet to emerge, the leader of Myanmar's junta, in the grip of a civil war, issued a rare plea for international aid.
Min Aung Hlaing said 144 people had been killed, with 732 confirmed injured, but warned the toll was "likely to rise". Eight deaths have been confirmed so far in Thailand, with more expected.
"In some places, some buildings collapsed," he said in a televised speech, after visiting a hospital in the capital Naypyidaw. "I would like to invite any country, any organisation, or anyone in Myanmar to come and help. Thank you."
Bangkok, Thailand's capital, has been declared a disaster area after a high-rise building under construction collapsed to a tangled heap of rubble in seconds.
At least 10 people died, 16 people injured and 101 people are missing, feared trapped under rubble, Thai authorities said.
Interior Minister Anutin Charnvirakul said eight dead bodies have been recovered and, with between 90 and 110 people unaccounted for, the toll is expected to rise.
"We see several dead bodies under the rubble. We will take time to bring the bodies out to avoid any further collapses," he said.
Hundreds of casualties arrived at a major hospital in Naypyidaw, where the emergency department entrance had collapsed on a car.
An official at the hospital, the same one visited by the junta chief, described it as a "mass casualty area" with medics treating the wounded outside.
Bangkok declared 'disaster area'
A video posted on social media showed the multi-storey building with a crane on top, near Bangkok’s popular Chatuchak market, collapse in a cloud of dust, as onlookers screamed and ran.
Bangkok authorities declared the city a disaster area, with governor Chadchart Sittipunt placed in charge of co-ordinating the response.
An Abu Dhabi resident from Mexico, Fernanda Sumano, received a text message from her sister, who is set to visit her after a month-long trip to Thailand.
Valeria Sumano was leaving from International Suvarnabhumi Airport in Bangkok when she felt the earthquake. She messaged her sister immediately, believing she was dizzy, but realised it was an earthquake, Ms Sumano told The National.
People at the airport were nervous, she told her sister, as the flight, which was supposed to take off at 2pm was delayed by an hour, and eventually took off at 3.15pm.
International aid
The earthquake was felt across the region, with China, Cambodia, Bangladesh and India all reporting tremors.
India, France and the European Union all offered to provide assistance, while the WHO said it was mobilising its logistics hub in Dubai to prepare trauma injury supplies.
Pope Francis said he was "deeply saddened by the loss of life and widespread devastation" in a telegram published by the Vatican.
The Red Cross said downed power lines were adding to challenges for their teams trying to reach Mandalay and Sagaing regions and southern Shan state.
“Initial reports from the ground suggest the earthquake has caused significant damage,” the Red Cross said. “Information on humanitarian needs is still being gathered.”
The earthquake, which damaged the Shwe Phone Shein Mosque, south of Mandalay, interrupted worshippers praying during the last Friday of Ramadan.
