Online Reporter
An earthquake of magnitude 7,7 has struck Myanmar, causing hundreds of people to pour out of swaying buildings in Bangkok, the capital of neighbouring Thailand, which is 1 400km away.
According to the United States Geological Survey (USGS), the quake on Friday was shallow, at a depth of just 10km with the epicentre near the central city of Mandalay, about 50km east of the city of Monywa.
At least 103 people have been reported dead, with over 300 injured.
In Mandalay, multiple buildings collapsed, including parts of Mandalay University, which caught fire.
A mosque collapse in the city resulted in 10 fatalities.
In the capital, Naypyidaw, the air traffic control tower at the international airport collapsed, killing five people.
Startled residents in densely populated central Bangkok poured out of high-rise condos and hotels.
The greater Bangkok area is home to more than 17 million people, many of whom live in high-rise apartments.
The quake was forceful enough to send water sloshing out of pools, some high up in high-rises, as the tremor shook.
“I heard it and I was sleeping in the house. I ran as far as I could in my pyjamas out of the building,” Duangjai, a resident of popular tourist city Chiang Mai, northern Thailand, told AFP. – wires
