Hundreds feared dead after powerful earthquake rocks Myanmar

A powerful earthquake rocked central Myanmar’s city of Mandalay around midday Friday local time, causing extensive damage across a wide swath of one of the world’s poorest countries. More than 140 people were killed, with authorities warning the death toll will likely increase dramatically.

The full extent of the death, injury and destruction was not immediately clear – particularly in Myanmar, which is embroiled in a civil war, and where information is tightly controlled.

“The death toll and injuries are expected to rise,” the head of Myanmar’s military government, Senior General Min Aung Hlaing said as he announced on television the latest death toll.

Hundreds are feared dead, currently reported missing and more than 700 people were injured in the quake.

At least 10 lives were also lost in the Thai capital, Bangkok – some 1,330 km southeast of the epicentre – after a high-rise building under construction collapsed. Authorities also announced that over a dozen people were injured, to varying degrees, and more than 100 people were missing from three construction sites.

The 7.7 magnitude quake struck at midday near Myanmar’s second largest city of Mandalay. Aftershocks followed, more than 50, according to national geological agencies, with the strongest measuring in at 6.4 magnitude.

Myanmar is in an active earthquake belt, though many of the temblors usually happen in sparsely populated areas, not cities like those affected Friday.

The US Geological Survey – an American government science agency – estimated that the death toll in Myanmar’s quakes could top 1,000.

In Mandalay, the earthquake reportedly brought down multiple buildings, including one of the city’s largest monasteries. Photos from the capital city of Naypyidaw