Over 150 dead across Myanmar, Thailand as earthquake traps scores under rubble

A state of emergency has been declared in Bangkok as rescuers rush to the site of a collapsed building where at least 80 workers are unaccounted for

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Rescue personnel near a building in Bangkok that collapsed after a strong earthquake struck central Myanmar on Friday. Photo: Reuters

Published: 2:54pm, 28 Mar 2025Updated: 10:55am, 29 Mar 2025

Scores of workers were feared trapped on Friday beneath a 30-storey under-construction building which collapsed in Bangkok after a powerful 7.7 magnitude earthquake toppled temples and buildings in neighbouring Myanmar, in the strongest tremor in living memory to hit the region.

In Thailand, authorities in Bangkok said 10 people were killed, 16 injured and 101 missing from three construction sites, including the high-rise.

At least 144 people have been killed in Myanmar, the country’s junta chief said, inviting “any country, any organisation” to help with relief.

The death toll is expected to rise, General Min Aung Hlaing said in a speech aired on state media.

The quake rocked the Thai capital around 1.40pm local time, sending panicked shoppers streaming from malls and offices into city streets and swaying overground train platforms and high-rise condominiums, some of which spilled water from rooftop swimming pools onto the streets below.

The epicentre of the earthquake was in central Myanmar, about 50km (30 miles) east of the city of Monywa and close to its second-largest city Mandalay.

As information trickled out from the impoverished country that had been isolated and battered by civil war, fears grew over the potential scale of the catastrophe and its ability to respond.