Powerful earthquake rocks Thailand and Myanmar, high-rise building under construction collapsed in Bangkok

A powerful earthquake rocked Myanmar and neighboring Thailand on Friday, killing at least three people in Bangkok and burying dozens when a high-rise building under construction collapsed. Footage shared on social media from Myanmar's second-largest city showed widespread destruction, raising fears that many were trapped under the rubble or killed.

The U.S. Geological Survey and Germany’s GFZ center for geosciences said the earthquake was a shallow 10 kilometers (6.2 miles), according to preliminary reports. Shallower earthquakes tend to cause more damage. Screaming and panic as buildings swayed. The 7.7 magnitude quake, with an epicenter near Mandalayin Myanmar, struck at midday and was followed by a strong 6.4 magnitude aftershock. Its tremors were felt in India, Bangladesh and China, apart from Thailand. According to reports, tremors of the earthquake were felt in Kolkata, Imphal, Meghalaya and East Cargo Hill in India.

The extent of death, injury and destruction — especially in Myanmar, which is embroiled in a civil war and where information is tightly controlled at the best of times — was not yet clear. Myanmar's government said blood was in high demand in the hardest-hit areas. Images of buckled and cracked roads and damaged highways as well as the collapse of a bridge and dam raised further concerns about how rescuers would even reach some areas in a country already enduring a widespread humanitarian crisis. The military seized power from the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi in February 2021, and is now involved in a bloody civil war with long-established militias and newly formed pro-democracy ones.