High-rise falls as powerful quake rocks Southeast Asia

A powerful earthquake has rocked Thailand and neighbouring Myanmar, 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 7.7 magnitude quake, with an epicentre near Mandalay in Myanmar, struck at midday on Friday and was followed by a strong 6.4 magnitude aftershock.

The extent of the death, injury and destruction - especially in Myanmar, which is embroiled in a brutal civil war that has already caused a widespread humanitarian crisis - was not yet clear.

Myanmar's government said blood was in high demand in the hardest-hit areas, and videos from the country showed multiple collapsed houses and buckled and cracked roads.

A dramatic video of the building's collapse near Bangkok's popular Chatuchak market showed the multi-storey building with a crane on top toppling into a cloud of dust, while onlookers screamed and ran.

The sound of sirens echoed throughout central Bangkok and vehicles filled the streets, leaving some of the city's already congested streets gridlocked.

The elevated rapid transit system and subway were shut down.

While the area where the quake struck is prone to earthquakes, they are usually not so big and it is rare for them to felt in the Thai capital.

Myanmar's military-run government declared a state of emergency in six regions and states including the capital Naypyitaw and Mandalay.

It was not clear what the declaration meant since the entire country has been under a state of emergency since 2021, when the army seized power.

Given the civil war, it was also not clear how help would get to many regions.

The Red Cross said downed power lines added 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.

In Bangkok, a construction worker was killed when rubble from the collapsing building site hit his truck and another was crushed by the falling debris, rescue worker Songwut Wangpon told reporters.

Defence Minister Phumtham Wechayachai said in all three people were killed at the site and 90 were missing.

He offered no more details about the ongoing rescue efforts but first responders said that seven people had been rescued from the area.

Rescue workers say the rubble is still too unstable for them to try to find people possibly trapped beneath.

Elsewhere, people in Bangkok evacuated from their buildings were cautioned to stay outside in case there were more aftershocks.

The US Geological Survey and Germany's GFZ center for geosciences said the earthquake was a shallow 10km.

Shallower earthquakes tend to cause more damage.

Bangkok's city hall declared the city a disaster area.

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

In Mandalay, the earthquake damaged part of the former royal palace and buildings.

While the area is prone to earthquakes, it is largely 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.

Major General Zaw Min Tun, the military government's spokesperson, told state television MRTV that blood was in high demand in the hospitals in earthquakes-hit areas.

To the northeast, the earthquake was felt in Yunnan and Sichuan provinces in China and caused damage to houses and injuries in the city of Ruili on the border with Myanmar, according to Chinese media reports.

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

Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra called an emergency meeting to assess the impact of the quake.