At least two people are dead after a multi-story building collapsed in Thailand’s capital city of Bangkok. The shocking video shows the moment the structure plummets to the ground as plumes of dust and smoke billow out.
An unknown number of others are still under the rubble, as workers are feared to be trapped. Rescue worker Songwut Wangpon told reporters another seven people had been found alive, Sky News reports.
The tall building collapsed after the 8.2 magnitude earthquake struck in neighbouring Myanmar on Friday at a depth of 10km, followed by a strong aftershock, according to the US Geological Survey.
Workers can be seen urgently fleeing the scene in the Chatuchak neighbourhood. Elsewhere in the city, buildings have been seen swaying as water spilled over from rooftop pools.
The strong earthquake has sparked panic in several cities in South East Asia. The quake was initially assessed as having 7.7 magnitude, but it has since been upgraded to 8.2 magnitude. Fears of a tsunami have since erupted, with the Tsunami Warning Centre of China’s Ministry of Natural Resources assessing local tsunamis may occur. However, China would not be impacted by them.
Authorities fear thousands may have been killed in Myanmar, where the tremor orginiated, with the aftershock affected neighbouring countries including Thailand and Vietnam.
The state administration council says the country’s national disaster management committee has declared a state of emergency in the Sagaing region, Mandalay region, Magway region, northeastern Shan State, Naypyitaw Council Area, and Bago region.
Three people have also died following the tragic partial collapsing of the stunning Buddha Temple in Mandalay. Images from social media show the Mahamuni Pagoda Buddhist temple, a highly worshiped site, caving in on itself.
A 91-year-old bridge in Myanmar has also collapsed. New footage shows the Ava Bridge, or Old Sagaing Bridge, which stretches the Irrawaddy River between Mandalay and Sagaing regions, falling in.
British tourist Fraser Morton, staying in Bangkok, said there was “a lot of screaming, a lot of panic” when the earthquake struck
He was in a shopping mall looking for camera equipment when “all of a sudden the whole building began to move”.
“Immediately, there was screaming and a lot of panic,” he told AP News.
“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.”