Myanmar earthquake latest: State of emergency declared as dozens trapped in collapsed buildings

Myanmar’s ruling junta has made a rare request for foreign humanitarian aid after a state of emergency was declared across six regions.

Junta chief Min Aung Hlaing arrived at a hospital in Naypyidaw where injured people were reciving treatment following the 7.7-magnitude earthquake.

An emergency situation was declared in Sagaing, Mandalay, Bago and Magway regions as well as eastern Shan state.

Large sections of the country remain of out of the junta’s control as it battles insurgency fighters after seixing power in a 2021 coup.

City authorities have now decalred Bangkok a disaster area following the high magnitude earthquake in neighbouring country of Myanmar, Bangkok city hall said.

The Bangkok governor has been ut in charge of navigating the disaster response, it said.

Pictured: People sit in front of a shop after a strong earthquake struck central Myanmar on Friday

Pictured: The debris of a construction site is pictured after a building collapsed in Bangkok

Pictured: Police stand next to the debris of a construction site after a building collapsed in Bangkok following an earthquake

Rescuers stand near a collapsed building in Bangkok

We’re hearing reports two people have been killed and seven rescued after a building collapse in Bangkok.

It comes as Thailand’s capital is declared a disaster area following a strong earthquake in neighboring Myanmar, Bangkok city hall said.

The Bangkok governor, Chadchart Sittipunt, has been placed in charge of coordinating the disaster response, it said

These pictures show how a hospital emergency department was damaged by the earthquake as scores of wounded casualties are treated outside.

Survivors are gathering in the compound of a hospital in Naypyidaw where some are receiving treatment to their injuries.

Thailand’s Department of Disaster Prevention has said the quake in Myanmar was felt in almost all regions of the country.

The epicenter of the earthquake was in central Myanmar, roughly 30 miles east of the city of Monywa.

In the capital Naypyitaw, the quake toppled religious shrines and some homes.

After an urgent meeting, the Thai prime minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra said she ordered the environmental ministry to predict the effects of the earthquake and prevent any aftershocks.

Pictured below: The Thai PM addresses the media, while standing next to her cabinet, after a weekly cabinet meeting at the Government House in Bangkok

Forty-three construction workers are missing after the 7.7-magnitude Myanmar earthquake felled an unfinished 30-storey building in Bangkok, Thai authorities say.

Fifty people were inside the Chatuchak Park building, which is hundreds of miles from the earthquake’s epicentre in Myanmar.

The number of missing people has been reported at 43, while seven others escaped.

‘When I arrived to inspect the site, I heard people calling for help, saying help me,’ Worapat Sukthai, deputy police chief of Bang Sue district, told AFP news agency.

The building was intended as government offices.

The military junta that has ruled Myanmar since a coup was orchestrated in 2021 have declared a state of emergency across six regions of the country in response to the earthquake.

Junta chief Min Aung Hlaing has reportedly arrived at a hospital in Naypyidaw which has apparently been designated a ‘mass casualty area’ aid growing fears of a major loss of life.

One official at the hospital told the AFP news agency that rows of wounded people were being treated outside the emergency department of the 1,000-bed general hospital with some writhing in pain.

The junta has made access to information difficult with all radio, television as well as print and online media controlled by the state while internet use is also restricted.

Just 12 minutes after the first earthquake hit Myanmar, another one struck, according to the US Geological Survey.

The second earthquake had a magnitude of 6.4, which is less than the earlier one of 7.7.

The epicentre was 18km (11.1 miles) south of Sagaing.

The US Geological Survey has written on its website that thousands of deaths in Myanmar are likely, given the apparent scale of the earthquake.

It wrote: ‘High casualties and extensive damage are probable and the disaster is likely widespread.’

It has issued a red alert, listing the affected countries as Bangladesh, India, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand and China.

The 7.7 magnitude earthquake struck central Myanmar at around 1.30pm local time (6:30am UK time).

It was soon followed up with a powerful aftershock measuring 6.4 magnitude .

The epicentre was located 16km (10 miles) north-west of the city of Sagaing at a depth of 10km and is close to the country’s second largest city Mandalay.

Strong tremors extended into Thailand and Yunnan in south-west China, with videos on social media showing damage to buildings in Bangkok.

Earthquakes are relatively common in Myanmar, where six strong quakes of 7.0 magnitude or more struck between 1930 and 1956 near the Sagaing Fault, which runs north to south through the centre of the country, according to the USGS.

At least ten people were killed when the earthquake struck Shwe Phone Shein mosque during prayers today, recsue workers told local media.

The mosque is said to have collapsed during worship and people are believed to be trapped.

The death toll could be much higher, a rescue worker helping with the mosque collapse said.

The news was reported by Myanamar-based news agency Khit Thit Media and the Yangon Times newspaper, as well as smaller media outlets.

The reports are as yet unconfirmed.

Passengers in Myanmar’s Mandalay Airport bent down to the ground and shielded from the 7.7-magnitude earthquake that steuck near the city, social media videos show.

Videos shared online show dozens of panicked passengers evacuating as airport alarm bells ring loudly following the natural disaster.

Myanmar’s second largest city and former royal capital Mandalay has seen extensive damage owing to its proximity to the earthquake’s epicentre.

It has damaged part of the former royal palace and buildings, according to videos and photos released on Facebook social media.

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 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 the capital Naypyitaw, the quake damaged religious shrines, sending parts toppling to the ground, and some homes.

A British tourist has told how he saw a Thai shopping mall moving after people fled in panic when the earthquake struck.

‘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. Lots of chaos.

Thailand’s Prime Minister, Paetongtarn Shinawatra, has reportedly declared a state of emergency in Bangkok following the earthquake.

It comes following an emergency meeting was held to assess the initial damage.

Thailand’s Department of Disaster Prevention said the earthquake was felt in almost all regions of the country.

According to local reports, at least 43 workers are trapped in one Bangkok skyscraper.

These pictures illustrate the scale of the damage caused by the earthquake with buildings completely destroyed in both Myanmar and Thailand.

Here are just a few images from both countries.

A damaged monastery is seen in Myanmar

Rescuers work at the site of a collapsed building in Bangkok

Damaged pagodas are pictured in Myanmar

Motorists pick up pieces of a damaged road in Naypyidaw, central Myanmar

Thailand’s capital Bangkok has been shaken by the earthquake with high-rise buildings swaying, while one apartment block has collapsed.

The greater Bangkok area is home to more than 17 million people, many of whom live in high-rise apartments.

Shocking video has shown the moment workers fled as a building under construction collapsed as it was shaken by the force of the quake.

Bangkok police confirmed that a high-rise building under construction had collapsed and said the number of possible casualties was not yet known.

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.

Hello and welcome to MailOnline’s live coverage as a strong earthquake rocks Myanmar.

Buildings have collapsed, roads have buckled and people have fled in terror with tremors felt in neighbouring Thailand and China.

The United States Geological Survey (USGS) said the quake was of 7.7 magnitude and at a depth of 10 km (6.2 miles). It was followed by a powerful aftershock.

The epicentre was about 17.2 km from the city of Mandalay, Myanmar’s second-largest, which has a population of about 1.5 million.

Stick with us as we bring you live updates on this breaking news story.