Strong earthquakes affect central Myanmar, shakes buildings in Thailand
A strong 7.7 magnitude earthquake shook Thailand and nearby Myanmar on Friday, bringing down a skyscraper under construction to Bangkok and overturning buildings in Mandalay.
At least one person was killed in Bangkok and dozens of workers saved from under the rubble of the skyscraper, said the National Institute of Urgency Medicine of Thailand.
Witnesses in the city said that people ended up on the streets of panic, many of whom are guests of the hotel in bathrobes and swimming costumes while the water was made by a high swimming pool in a luxury hotel.
The United States Geological Survey (USGS) said that the earthquake was 7.7 entities and a depth of 10 kilometers. It was followed by a powerful tightening shocks.
The epicenter was about 17.2 kilometers from the city of Mandalay, which has a population of about 1.5 million people.
The government to manage Myanmar declared the state of emergency in six regions.
Two eye witnesses from the city of Taunnoo in the Myanmar Bago region told Reuters that at least three people died after a mosque partially collapsed.
“We were saying prayers when the agitation started … three died on the spot,” said one of the people who spoke to Reuters.
An officer of the Myanmar’s fire service department said to Reuters: “We started research and go around for Yangon to check the victims and the damage. So far we have not yet information”.
Mandalay’s social media posts, the ancient real capital of Myanmar who is at the center of his Buddhist heart, showed buildings and debris collapsed scattered through the streets of the city. Reuters was unable to check the posts immediately.
A witness of the city said to Reuters: “We all ended up at home when everything started to tremble. I witnessed a five -story building in front of my eyes. Everyone in my city are off the road and nobody dares to return to the buildings.”
Another witness in the city, Htet Naing Oo, told Reuters that a tea store had collapsed with several people trapped inside. “We couldn’t enter,” he said. “The situation is very bad.”
A third witness said that a mosque in the city was seriously damaged.
The Chinese Xinhua news agency said strong tremors have been warned in the southern -western province of Yunnan who borders with Myanmar, but there were no reports of victims.
The witnesses contacted in Yangon said many people ended up by the buildings of the city, the largest in the country.
In the meantime, the witnesses in Bangkok said that a tower of the center office has swayed from one side to the other for at least two minutes, with doors and windows that creak strongly.
Hundreds of employees have filed through emergency stairs while some shocked workers and panic are blocked. He felt strong shouting while the building continued to oscillate.
Outside, hundreds gathered in the afternoon sun, while the staff with medical kit found office chairs for the elderly and shocked people.
