Thai emergency services said two people have been found dead and an unknown number of others are still under the rubble of a building that collapsed after a massive earthquake hit the capital, Bangkok.
Rescue worker Songwut Wangpon told reporters another seven people had been found alive at the site near Bangkok’s popular Chatuchak Market.
The multi-story structure collapsed after the 7.7 magnitude earthquake struck at midday local time on Friday, sending a crane on top toppling to the ground and a massive plume of dust into the air.
Rescuers carry an injured person from the site of a high-rise building under construction that collapsed in Bangkok (Sakchai Lalit/AP)
Rescuers carry an injured person from the site of a high-rise building under construction that collapsed in Bangkok (Sakchai Lalit/AP)(Sakchai Lalit/AP)
A dramatic video circulated on social media showed the collapse of the building, which was under construction, while onlookers screamed and ran.
Police told The Associated Press they were responding to the scene, and had no immediate information on how many workers were on the site at the time of the collapse.
Thai Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra called an emergency meeting to assess the impact of the 7.7 magnitude earthquake.
Workers from an Ikea in a high-rise shopping centre and others seek shelter in Bangkok’s Benjasiri Park (Adam Schreck/AP)
Workers from an Ikea in a high-rise shopping centre and others seek shelter in Bangkok’s Benjasiri Park (Adam Schreck/AP)(Adam Schreck/AP)
“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 centres 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, Mr Morton sought refuge in Benjasiri Park, away from the tall buildings.
“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.”
The US Geological Survey and Germany’s GFZ centre for geosciences said the incident was at a shallow 6.2 miles, with an epicentre in neighbouring Myanmar, according to preliminary reports.
A state of emergency was declared in six regions and states in Myanmar.
State-run MRTV television said the military-run government’s proclamation includes the capital Naypyitaw and Mandalay.
A second quake, with a magnitude of 6.4, shook the area 12 minutes later.
The greater Bangkok area is home to more than 17 million people, many of whom live in high-rise apartments.
People evacuated from buildings gather in the street in Bangkok (Chutima Lalit/AP)
People evacuated from buildings gather in the street in Bangkok (Chutima Lalit/AP)(Chutima Lalit/AP)
Alarms went off in buildings as the earthquake hit around 1.30pm local time, and startled residents were evacuated down staircases of high-rise buildings and hotels in densely populated central Bangkok.
They remained in the streets, seeking shade from the midday sun in the minutes after the quake.
The quake was forceful enough to send water sloshing out of pools, some high up in high-rises, as the tremor shook.
The epicentre of the earthquake was in central Myanmar, 30 miles east of the city of Monywa.
Damaged pagodas in Naypyitaw, Myanmar (Aung Shine Oo/AP)
Damaged pagodas in Naypyitaw, Myanmar (Aung Shine Oo/AP)(Aung Shine Oo/AP)
Myanmar is in the middle of a civil war.
In the capital Naypyitaw, the earthquake damaged religious shrines, sending parts toppling to the ground, and some homes.
In Mandalay, the country’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 Facebook.
A destroyed monastery in Naypyitaw, Myanmar (Aung Shine Oo/AP)
A destroyed monastery in Naypyitaw, Myanmar (Aung Shine Oo/AP)(Aung Shine Oo/AP)
While the area is prone to earthquakes, it is generally sparsely populated, and most houses are low-rise structures.
In the Sagaing region just southwest of Mandalay, a 90-year-old bridge collapsed, and some sections of the road 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.
Thailand’s Department of Disaster Prevention said the earthquake was felt in almost all regions of the country.