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Sky News
28-03-2025
- Sky News
Eyewitnesses describe earthquake hitting Myanmar and Bangkok
Witnesses have described the chaos as an earthquake struck Myanmar, with tremors felt 560 miles away in Bangkok. At least 144 people have died in Myanmar with more than 730 injured, while in Thailand eight people were killed and 81 are trapped after a skyscraper collapsed. Myanmar's state broadcaster gave the first update on fatalities on Friday afternoon as the country's military warned there would be more deaths and casualties. As emergency workers in both countries respond to the disaster, we hear from people in Bangkok and Myanmar who witnessed the natural disaster. 'There was a lot of screaming' Paul Vincent, a tourist visiting the Thai capital from England, was at a streetside bar when the quake struck. "The next thing, everybody came on the street, so there was a lot of screaming and panicking, which obviously made it a lot worse," he said. As he came out into the street, he saw a high-rise building swaying and water falling from a rooftop pool. "When I saw the building, oh my God, that's when it hit me," he said. "There was people crying in the streets and, you know, the panic was horrendous really." 0:20 The earthquake's epicentre is around 12 miles (20km) northeast of Mandalay - Myanmar's ancient royal capital. One witness in the city said: "We all ran out of the house as everything started shaking. "I witnessed a five-storey building collapse in front of my eyes. Everyone in my town is out on the road and no one dares to go back inside buildings." 0:33 'I saw smoke just flying out' Thai pop star and actor Krissada Sukosol Clapp has told Sky News about the moment he witnessed the earthquake in Bangkok. Clapp, a member of the Thai pop band Pru, said: "I was just next door, in another building just about two metres away... I ran down the building, there was smoke." He added the sound was "almost like thunder, and I saw smoke just flying out" and that the damage "looked like 9/11 to me". 'No earthquake like this in my lifetime' Voranoot Thirawat, a lawyer working in central Bangkok, said her first indication that something was wrong came when she saw a light swinging back and forth. Then she heard the building creaking as it moved due to the tremors. Ms Thirawat and her colleagues then ran down 12 flights of stairs. "In my lifetime, there was no earthquake like this in Bangkok," she said. 1:00 'I feel sick, it's like a dizzy feeling' Creamlie Sripputthakun, who lives in Bangkok, was riding a motorbike back home when the earthquake hit. The 20-year-old told Sky News: "It's the first time for me. "I feel so weird and strange like I was dizzy." She adds: "I was going back home by motorcycle and I saw the buildings moving. "I just know to stay home with my family." Worshipper saw three die in partial mosque collapse In Myanmar, at least three people died after a mosque partially collapsed in Taungoo. An eyewitness said: "We were saying prayers when the shaking started... Three died on the spot." 0:38 'It started to get violent' Alex MacGregor, a PR consultant who has been living in Bangkok for six months, was working from home and waiting for the delivery of his lunch when the tremors began at around 1.30pm (6.30am) local time. "I was just waiting for the driver to come with my food and I look in the pool and noticed the water started to kind of lap at the edges... but then it started to get violent," the 36-year-old, originally from Inverness in Scotland said. "All of a sudden I started feeling faint, like that kind of blood rushing to the head feeling, and I was like - 'am I ill here, or what's going on?'" He added: "Then I looked up the other condo, which is a really high skyscraper and I saw their pool water coming over the sides and that's when I knew it was an earthquake." Mr McGregor said experiencing the earthquake was a "weird sensation" and that it was like things were moving in "slow motion". He added: "I actually went and sat down because I was feeling unsteady on my feet." 0:33 Despite the tremors, Mr MacGregor said people were "remarkably calm" as an alarm went off in his building telling all occupants to evacuate. "Shortly after I left my condo area to come to a coffee shop... all the shops here in this eastern part of Bangkok were closed, so people were lining the streets," he said. "We knew there was going to be an aftershock, so I've made my way to an outdoor space and there's a lot of people just sitting out here working on their laptops generally being chill." 1:20 'People running the wrong way down escalators' Fraser Morton, a Scottish tourist who is in Bangkok, says there was "a lot of screaming, a lot of panic". He was in a shopping centre looking for camera equipment when "all of a sudden the whole building began to move". "Immediately, there was screaming and a lot of panic," he said. "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." Mr Morton and thousands of others poured into Benjasiri Park from nearby shopping centres, high rises and apartment buildings along Bangkok's busy Sukhumvit Road. The park was seen as an open space, safe from nearby high rise buildings. No warning system meant 'immediate panic' Cordelia Lynch, Sky News' Asia correspondent, was in the office when the tremors rocked the city. She said: "Lights started to swing, the windowpanes shook, and people rushed downstairs to evacuate the building. "There was no warning - despite this being a country still reeling from a devastating tsunami twenty years ago." She continued: "One of the things I was discussing with people in the hard-hit coastal areas was the importance of a warning system. "What is hard to believe at this stage... there were no phone alerts that we were aware of." She noted that the Thai government has responded to the earthquake by calling for the immediate introduction of a mobile phone alert system, but added: "What happened this afternoon was just immediate panic."
The Hill
28-03-2025
- General
- The Hill
The Latest: Major earthquakes strike Myanmar and Thailand
BANGKOK, Thailand (AP) — A 7.7 magnitude earthquake and an aftershock measuring 6.4 rocked Thailand and neighboring Myanmar on Friday, bringing down a high-rise building under construction in Bangkok and damaging historic buildings in Myanmar. The quake struck in the early afternoon, sending people streaming out of buildings and seeking shelter anywhere they could find it from the blazing sun. Myanmar's military-run government has declared a state of emergency in six regions. The greater Bangkok area is home to more than 17 million people, many of whom live in high-rise apartments. While the epicenter was in Myanmar, the area is generally sparsely populated, and most houses are low-rise structures. In Mandalay, Myanmar's second-largest city and close to the epicenter, the earthquake damaged part of the former royal palace and buildings, according to videos and photos released on Facebook social media. In the Sagaing region just southwest of Mandalay, a 90-year-old bridge collapsed. Damage was also reported in China. 'Significant damage' The Red Cross said downed power lines are 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.' State of emergency A state of emergency has been declared in six regions and states in Myanmar by the military-run government. State-run MRTV television said the government's proclamation includes the capital Naypyitaw and Mandalay, after the earthquake and a strong aftershock, whose epicenter was near the country's second largest city. Myanmar is in the midst of a civil war and many areas are not easily accessible and it was not immediately clear what relief efforts the military would be able to provide. Bangkok building collapse casualties Thai emergency responders say two people have been found dead and an unknown number of others are still under the rubble of a collapsed building in Bangkok. Rescue worker Songwut Wangpon, speaking at the scene of a tall pile of rubble that was once a high-rise building under construction, told reporters another seven people had been found alive. The collapse of the multi-story structure sent a crane on top of it toppling to the ground and created a massive plume of dust. People rush for safety in teeming Bangkok People in the Silom business district of Bangkok evacuated office buildings and condominium towers along Rama IV Road and streamed into nearby Lumphini Park. The sidewalks filled with work crews with neon green shirts, along with other workers in hard hats and blue and green uniform shirts. Along the walkways of the park and the sidewalks of Silom and nearby Sathon, people in business attire and company uniforms huddled or stood in packs talking and checking their phones. Some moving through the crowds were crying or visibly distraught. Paul Vincent, a tourist visiting from England, was at a streetside bar when the quake struck. 'The next thing, everybody came on the street, so there was a lot of screaming and panicking, which obviously made it a lot worse,' he said. As he came onto the street himself, he said he saw a high-rise building swaying and water was falling from a rooftop pool. 'When I saw the building, oh my God, that's when … it hit me,' he said. 'There was people crying in the streets and, you know, the panic was horrendous really.' Damage reported in nearby China The earthquake was felt in Yunnan and Sichuan provinces in China and caused injuries and damage to houses in the city of Ruili on the border with northern Myanmar, according to Chinese media reports. Videos that one outlet said it had received from a person in Ruili showed building debris littering a street and a person being wheeled on a stretcher toward an ambulance. The shaking in Mangshi, a Chinese city about 100 kilometers (60 miles) northeast of Ruili, was so strong that people couldn't stand, one resident told The Paper, an online media outlet. Thai prime minister promises all necessary help Thai Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra said in a news conference that she has ordered relevant agencies to prepare and work to relieve the situation and warned of possible aftershocks. She didn't mention any casualties. 'I'd like to ask everyone to stay calm and do not panic, but please be careful.'
Yahoo
28-03-2025
- General
- Yahoo
The Latest: Major earthquakes strike Myanmar and Thailand
BANGKOK, Thailand (AP) — A 7.7 magnitude earthquake and an aftershock measuring 6.4 rocked Thailand and neighboring Myanmar on Friday, bringing down a high-rise building under construction in Bangkok and damaging historic buildings in Myanmar. The quake struck in the early afternoon, sending people streaming out of buildings and seeking shelter anywhere they could find it from the blazing sun. Myanmar's military-run government has declared a state of emergency in six regions. The greater Bangkok area is home to more than 17 million people, many of whom live in high-rise apartments. While the epicenter was in Myanmar, the area is generally sparsely populated, and most houses are low-rise structures. In Mandalay, Myanmar's second-largest city and close to the epicenter, the earthquake damaged part of the former royal palace and buildings, according to videos and photos released on Facebook social media. In the Sagaing region just southwest of Mandalay, a 90-year-old bridge collapsed. Damage was also reported in China. State of emergency A state of emergency has been declared in six regions and states in Myanmar by the military-run government. State-run MRTV television said the government's proclamation includes the capital Naypyitaw and Mandalay, after the earthquake and a strong aftershock, whose epicenter was near the country's second largest city. Myanmar is in the midst of a civil war and many areas are not easily accessible and it was not immediately clear what relief efforts the military would be able to provide. Bangkok building collapse casualties Thai emergency responders say two people have been found dead and an unknown number of others are still under the rubble of a collapsed building in Bangkok. Rescue worker Songwut Wangpon, speaking at the scene of a tall pile of rubble that was once a high-rise building under construction, told reporters another seven people had been found alive. The collapse of the multi-story structure sent a crane on top of it toppling to the ground and created a massive plume of dust. People rush for safety in teeming Bangkok People in the Silom business district of Bangkok evacuated office buildings and condominium towers along Rama IV Road and streamed into nearby Lumphini Park. The sidewalks filled with work crews with neon green shirts, along with other workers in hard hats and blue and green uniform shirts. Along the walkways of the park and the sidewalks of Silom and nearby Sathon, people in business attire and company uniforms huddled or stood in packs talking and checking their phones. Some moving through the crowds were crying or visibly distraught. Paul Vincent, a tourist visiting from England, was at a streetside bar when the quake struck. 'The next thing, everybody came on the street, so there was a lot of screaming and panicking, which obviously made it a lot worse,' he said. As he came onto the street himself, he said he saw a high-rise building swaying and water was falling from a rooftop pool. 'When I saw the building, oh my God, that's when ... it hit me,' he said. 'There was people crying in the streets and, you know, the panic was horrendous really.' Damage reported in nearby China The earthquake was felt in Yunnan and Sichuan provinces in China and caused injuries and damage to houses in the city of Ruili on the border with northern Myanmar, according to Chinese media reports. Videos that one outlet said it had received from a person in Ruili showed building debris littering a street and a person being wheeled on a stretcher toward an ambulance. The shaking in Mangshi, a Chinese city about 100 kilometers (60 miles) northeast of Ruili, was so strong that people couldn't stand, one resident told The Paper, an online media outlet. Thai prime minister promises all necessary help Thai Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra said in a news conference that she has ordered relevant agencies to prepare and work to relieve the situation and warned of possible aftershocks. She didn't mention any casualties. 'I'd like to ask everyone to stay calm and do not panic, but please be careful.' Bangkok City Hall has declared Bangkok an area of disaster
The Independent
28-03-2025
- General
- The Independent
The Latest: Major earthquakes strike Myanmar and Thailand
A 7.7 magnitude earthquake and an aftershock measuring 6.4 rocked Thailand and neighboring Myanmar on Friday, bringing down a high-rise building under construction in Bangkok and damaging historic buildings in Myanmar. The quake struck in the early afternoon, sending people streaming out of buildings and seeking shelter anywhere they could find it from the blazing sun. The greater Bangkok area is home to more than 17 million people, many of whom live in high-rise apartments. While the epicenter was in Myanmar, the area is generally sparsely populated, and most houses are low-rise structures. In Mandalay, Myanmar's second-largest city and close to the epicenter, the earthquake damaged part of the former royal palace and buildings, according to videos and photos released on Facebook social media. In the Sagaing region just southwest of Mandalay, a 90-year-old bridge collapsed. Damage was also reported in China. Bangkok building collapse casualties Thai emergency responders say two people have been found dead and an unknown number of others are still under the rubble of a collapsed building in Bangkok. Rescue worker Songwut Wangpon, speaking at the scene of a tall pile of rubble that was once a high-rise building under construction, told reporters another seven people had been found alive. The collapse of the multi-story structure sent a crane on top of it toppling to the ground and created a massive plume of dust. People rush for safety in teeming Bangkok People in the Silom business district of Bangkok evacuated office buildings and condominium towers along Rama IV Road and streamed into nearby Lumphini Park. The sidewalks filled with work crews with neon green shirts, along with other workers in hard hats and blue and green uniform shirts. Along the walkways of the park and the sidewalks of Silom and nearby Sathon, people in business attire and company uniforms huddled or stood in packs talking and checking their phones. Some moving through the crowds were crying or visibly distraught. Paul Vincent, a tourist visiting from England, was at a streetside bar when the quake struck. 'The next thing, everybody came on the street, so there was a lot of screaming and panicking, which obviously made it a lot worse,' he said. As he came onto the street himself, he said he saw a high-rise building swaying and water was falling from a rooftop pool. 'When I saw the building, oh my God, that's when ... it hit me,' he said. 'There was people crying in the streets and, you know, the panic was horrendous really.' Damage reported in nearby China The earthquake was felt in Yunnan and Sichuan provinces in China and caused injuries and damage to houses in the city of Ruili on the border with northern Myanmar, according to Chinese media reports. Videos that one outlet said it had received from a person in Ruili showed building debris littering a street and a person being wheeled on a stretcher toward an ambulance. The shaking in Mangshi, a Chinese city about 100 kilometers (60 miles) northeast of Ruili, was so strong that people couldn't stand, one resident told The Paper, an online media outlet. Thai prime minister promises all necessary help Thai Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra said in a news conference that she has ordered relevant agencies to prepare and work to relieve the situation and warned of possible aftershocks. She didn't mention any casualties. 'I'd like to ask everyone to stay calm and do not panic, but please be careful.' Bangkok City Hall has declared Bangkok an area of disaster
