Hundreds feared dead as Myanmar and Thailand hit with 7.7-magnitude earthquake
Hundreds of people are feared dead after Myanmar was hit with a massive 7.7-magnitude earthquake that was felt in neighbouring Thailand - causing a high-rise building under construction to collapse.
The quake was followed by a second 6.4-magnitude shock, with the US Geological Survey and Germany's GFZ centre for geosciences reporting the first tremor's epicentre in Myanmar.
A hospital in the capital Naypyidaw has declared the quake a 'major casualty event', with concerns that people may be trapped or further injured by falling debris.
At least three people have been confirmed dead in Thailand and three in Myanmar, with scores more missing and injured. Earlier in the day, Myanmar's military junta made a plea for international assistance.
There are now concerns over the stability of damaged buildings in Myanmar, as well as over the safety of dams in the impact zone - with further threat to human life if they should collapse.
Read more from our media partners below or click the headlines to skip ahead
>Bangkok high-rise block collapses as huge 7.7-magnitude earthquake rocks Thailand and Myanmar
>First deaths confirmed as 'mass casualty' quake hits Myanmar, Thailand
>Three dead and 90 missing as strong earthquake rocks Thai capital
>Myanmar quake damaged buildings and infrastructure, causes concern over dams, Red Cross says
>Rooftop pool spills over skyscraper as Bangkok hit by earthquake tremors
A powerful 7.7-magnitude earthquake rocked Southeast Asia on Friday, causing a high-rise building in Bangkok to collapse and sparking fears thousands could be dead in neighbouring Myanmar.
The US Geological Survey and Germany's GFZ center for geosciences said the initial midday tremor was a shallow 10 kilometers (6.2 miles), with an epicenter in Myanmar, according to preliminary reports.
A second quake, with a magnitude of 6.4, shook the area 12 minutes later.
Read more from The Standard.
A massive earthquake Friday turned a major hospital in Myanmar's capital into a "mass casualty area", while at least three people were killed and dozens trapped in neighbouring Thailand when a skyscraper collapsed...
The devastation prompted a rare request for international aid from Myanmar's isolated military junta, which has lost swathes of territory to armed groups, as it declared a state of emergency across the six worst-affected regions.
Read more from AFP.
Thailand's defence minister said three people are confirmed dead and 90 are missing at the site where a high-rise building under construction collapsed in a powerful earthquake.
Earlier, rescue worker Songwut Wangpon told reporters seven people had been found alive at the site near Bangkok's popular Chatuchak Market.
The multi-story structure collapsed after the 7.7 magnitude earthquake struck at midday local time on Friday, sending a crane on top toppling to the ground and a massive plume of dust into the air.
Read the full story from PA.
The powerful earthquake that hit Myanmar on Friday damaged buildings and public infrastructure and there are concerns for the state of large dams, the Red Cross said on Friday.
Six states and regions are most impacted - particularly in the northwest of the country, the Red Cross said.
"Public infrastructure has been damaged, including roads, bridges and public buildings," Marie Manrique, Program Coordinator for the International Federation of the Red Cross said to reporters in Geneva, via video link from Yangon.
Read more from Reuters.
Water from a rooftop pool was seen cascading down the side of a skyscraper in Bangkok, after tremors from a 7.7-magnitude earthquake were felt in Thailand on Friday, 28 March.
Bangkok police say they are evacuating people from unsafe buildings, with the public advised to avoid high-rise buildings, which dominate the densely populated Thai capital.
Read more from The Independent.
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It's hard to sleep — not just because of the heat, but because I can't stop thinking about what this place had once been. The next morning, we walk down the center of the airstrip as the sun rises over the valley. Once one of the busiest runways in the world, it now lies silent. Tall grass sprouts from potholes left by artillery strikes. The crumbling control tower is only half its original height, and the hangars at the far end sit abandoned — rusting reminders of a war long past. As I walk along its length, I notice the absence of signposts, statues or any form of commemoration. Despite the airstrip's historical importance, there's nothing to mark it. Among those who operated out of Long Tieng during the war were the Ravens, a secret group of active-duty Air Force pilots who volunteered to serve in Laos. Their primary role was to act as forward air controllers (FACs), flying low behind enemy lines to identify and mark targets for US Air Force bombers. 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'I was flying a C-123, bringing in munitions, supplies and fuel for 'the little birds,' which would then distribute it to other sites,' Hansen recalls. As part of his mission, he also transported 'CIA customers.' During one flight in 1972, Hansen was shot down over the Plateau de Bolevan in southern Laos. 'After getting my crew out and bailing out, I watched the C-123 fall out of the sky and explode,' he says, noting he was rescued by Air America helicopters shortly after. About 100 meters west of the airstrip stands a two-story house that once served as the headquarters of General Vang Pao, the leader of the CIA-backed Hmong army. From this remote compound, Pao worked closely with American operatives to coordinate a covert war, marshaling thousands of Hmong fighters while receiving US air support, weapons and humanitarian aid in return. Set behind a tall fence and overgrown garden, the house still feels separated from the rest of the village — distant, guarded. A sign on the front door, written in English, reads: 'No entry without permission.' It's the only English sign we've seen in the entire village, and it stops us in our tracks. With no one around, we circle the property, peering through dusty windows, unsure whether we can get inside. An older man in weathered military fatigues appears nearby. Without saying a word, he approaches, slowly dangling a key in front of our faces. He doesn't speak English, but types out a number on his phone. We nod and hand over the cash. A moment later, we're inside. The house is not what I expected. I'd imagined a preserved time capsule, cluttered with mementos or forgotten artifacts — but the rooms are eerily empty. No furniture, no decorations, no posters or portraits of the general. In the foyer, dozens of artillery shells are stacked neatly in one corner, with several mortar rounds resting nearby. It's surreal to see these instruments of war arranged with such quiet precision. Through a translation app, the man warns us not to touch anything — some might still be live. Upstairs, a single wooden desk and chair have been placed near a panoramic window facing the airstrip. I sit down, imagining General Vang Pao and CIA officers in this very spot, directing B-52 bombing runs on communist strongholds. The war — so vast, so devastating — had largely been coordinated from this small, simple room. It was almost impossible to reconcile the scale of the conflict with the modesty of this setting. We climb up to the roof. From there, the view stretches across the old airstrip and into the mountains that once shielded Long Tieng from attack. Today, the village is quiet. A few people walk slowly down the main road. Stray dogs nap in the sun. It's hard to believe that tens of thousands of people once lived here. Today, the impacts of the intense US bombing campaign on Laos are still being felt. Of the 270 million sub-munitions dropped on the country, an estimated 30% did not detonate, according to the Mines Advisory Group (MAG). These unexploded ordnances continue to kill, injure and hinder development across the country, according to MAG. Around the hills of Long Tieng, villagers still rarely venture off established roads and trails to avoid unexploded munitions. Full US-Laos relations were restored in 1992 and since 1995, the US has invested more than $390 million in a Conventional Weapons Destruction program aimed at addressing the legacy of the war. However, questions remain about future US funding of explosive ordinance clearance in Southeast Asia following the Trump administration's widespread suspension of foreign aid. 'I fell in love with Laos,' says Hansen. 'I look back on my time as exciting and a place where I could immerse myself in the culture. I was fulfilling a purpose where I knew I was accomplishing something that was needed.' Back in Long Tieng, children riding scooters zoom past my friend and me, their tires bumping over the broken concrete that once launched warplanes into the sky. I now understand why the community gravitates toward the airstrip whenever they can: it's one of the few open spaces cleared of unexploded ordnance. A rare place where children can play without fear of becoming another casualty of a war that ended 50 years ago. The legacy of a secret conflict — barely remembered back in the United States.
