‘Lots of chaos’: High-rise building under construction collapses after violent earthquakes in Thailand, Myanmar
Bangkok: Bangkok police say a high-rise building under construction collapsed when two violent earthquakes rocked South-East Asia on Friday, causing buildings in the Thai capital to sway and prompting evacuations across the city, as well as in neighbouring Myanmar.
A dramatic video circulated on social media showed the multi-storey building with a crane on top collapsing into a cloud of dust, while onlookers screamed and ran.
Police told The Associated Press they were responding to the scene near Bangkok’s popular Chatuchak Market, and had no immediate information on how many workers were on the site at the time of the collapse.
The US Geological Survey and Germany’s GFZ centre for geosciences said the midday 7.7 magnitude earthquake was a shallow 10 kilometres, with an epicentre in Myanmar, according to preliminary reports. It was the strongest worldwide since 2023, according to USGS data compiled by Bloomberg.
A second quake, with a magnitude of 6.4, shook the area 12 minutes later.
There were no immediate reports of casualties and Thai Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra called an emergency meeting to assess the impact of the quake.
Chinese authorities warned of the possibility of a tsunami, according to a report on state-owned CCTV.
Water from high-rise rooftop pools in Bangkok sloshed over the side as they shook, and debris fell from many buildings. People in Bangkok evacuated from their buildings were cautioned to stay outside in case there were more. Bangkok’s BTS skytrain has suspended services, while the stock and futures exchanges halted trading.
“All of a sudden the whole building began to move, immediately there was screaming and a lot of panic,” said Fraser Morton, a tourist from Scotland, who was in one of Bangkok’s many malls shopping for camera equipment.
“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.”
Like thousands of others in downtown Bangkok, Morton sought refuge in Benjasiri Park – away from the tall buildings all around.
“I got outside and then looked up at the building and the whole building was moving, dust and debris, it was pretty intense,” he said. “Lots of chaos.”
In Mandalay, Myanmar’s second-largest city and close to the epicentre, the earthquake damaged part of the former royal palace and buildings, according to videos and photos released on social media.
While the area is prone to earthquakes, it is generally sparsely populated, and most houses are low-rise structures.
Damaged pagodas are seen in Naypyitaw, Myanmar after the earthquake.Credit: AP
In the Sagaing region just south-west 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 Myanmar’s capital, Naypyitaw, the quake damaged religious shrines, sending parts toppling to the ground, and some homes.
An officer from the Myanmar Fire Services Department told Reuters: “We have started the search and going around Yangon to check for casualties and damage. So far, we have no information yet.”
Thai rescue workers arrive on the scene of the collapsed building in Bangkok.Credit: Getty Images
In Bangkok, alarms went off in buildings as the earthquake hit around 1.30pm, and startled residents were evacuated down staircases of high-rise condominiums and hotels, many of them hotel guests in bathrobes and swimming costumes.
One office tower in downtown Bangkok swayed from side to side for at least two minutes, with doors and windows creaking loudly, witnesses said.
The greater Bangkok area is home to more than 17 million people, many of whom live in high-rise apartments.
Outside, hundreds gathered in the afternoon sun, while staff with medical kits found office chairs for elderly and people in shock.
People in Bangkok left their homes and congregated on the streets after the earthquake.Credit: dpa/picture alliance via Getty Images
“I have experienced earthquakes twice before in Myanmar, but that was only one second, one big bang, but here it went on for at least, I’d say, a minute,” said Zsuzsanna Vari-Kovacs, a Hungarian resident of Bangkok, who had just finished eating at a restaurant when the quake hit.
“My husband was in a high-rise, I think that’s even worse.”
Thailand’s Department of Disaster Prevention said the quake was felt in almost all regions of the country.
China’s Xinhua news agency said strong tremors were felt in south-western Yunnan province, which borders Myanmar, but there were no reports of casualties.
AP, Reuters, Bloomberg
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