Powerful earthquake rocks Thailand and Myanmar

BANGKOK (AP): A 7.7 magnitude earthquake rocked Thailand and neighboring Myanmar midday on Friday, killing at least two people in Bangkok and burying an unknown number when a high-rise building under construction collapsed, and prompting Myanmar to declare a widespread state of emergency.

The midday temblor with an epicenter near Mandalay, Myanmar’s second largest city, was followed by a strong 6.4 magnitude aftershock.

Myanmar’s military-run government declared a state of emergency in six regions and states including the capital Naypyitaw and Mandalay, but with the country in the midst of a prolonged bloody civil war it was not clear how help would get to many regions.

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.

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.

Another seven were found alive at the site but an unknown number remain under the rubble, which is currently still too unstable for emergency crews to start looking, he said.

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

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 10 kilometers, according to preliminary reports.