Bangkok: A 30-story skyscraper under construction for government offices collapsed in Bangkok on Friday after the city was rocked by a strong earthquake.
The building in the north of the Thai capital was reduced to a tangle of rubble and twisted metal in seconds after the 7.7-magnitude quake, which had its epicentre in Myanmar.
The 7.7-magnitude tremor hit northwest of the city of Sagaing on Friday afternoon at a shallow depth, the United States Geological Survey said.
A 6.4-magnitude aftershock hit the same area minutes later.
Thailand’s defense minister says 90 people are missing, and three are confirmed dead at the site.
Defense Minister Phumtham Wechayachai offered no more details about the ongoing rescue efforts but first responders said that seven people had been rescued so far from outside the collapsed building.
The building came down suddenly when the 7.7 magnitude earthquake struck Friday, sending a crane toppling off the roof and a giant plume of dust into the air.
The quake prompted Thai Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra to declare a state of emergency in Bangkok, where some metro and light rail services were suspended, further snarling the city’s already notorious traffic.
“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 the popular northern Thailand tourist city Chiang Mai, told AFP.
Chunks of ceilings fell from buildings and roads buckled in Myanmar’s capital, Naypyidaw, a sprawling, purpose-built city with highways up to 20 lanes wide, according to AFP journalists.
A team of AFP journalists were at the National Museum in Naypyidaw when the earthquake struck and the building began shaking.
Pieces fell from the ceiling, and walls cracked as uniformed staff ran outside, some of them trembling and tearful, others grabbing cellphones to try to contact loved ones.
The ground vibrated violently for around half a minute before settling.
There were no immediate reports of casualties after the quakes, but they caused panic in nearby cities in northern Thailand and down to the capital, Bangkok.
Sai, a 76-year-old Chiang Mai resident, was working at a minimart when the shop started to shake.
“I quickly rushed out of the shop along with other customers,” he said.
“This is the strongest tremor I’ve experienced in my life.”
