Dozens missing as massive 7.7 quake rocks Myanmar and Thailand
LONDON -- An earthquake with a 7.7 magnitude has rocked Southeast Asia on Friday, according to the United States Geological Survey.
USGS is reporting the epicenter of the quake was in Mandalay, Myanmar, but at least three people were killed and 68 others were injured when a building that was under construction collapsed in Bangkok as the earthquake struck the region on Friday, according to Thailand’s National Institute of Emergency Medicine (NIEM), which said there was an unknown number of people still trapped in the rubble.
The extent of the damage in Mandalay -- the second largest city in Myanmar -- is largely unknown this morning due to it being under very tight state control. However, it is thought that the damage could be extensive since this earthquake is stronger than many other historic quakes -- including the Northridge earthquake that affected the Los Angeles area of California on Jan. 17, 1994, which is remembered as one of the most destructive and deadly in California history. Bangkok is approximately 600 miles away from Mandalay and suffered notable damage as well as collapsed buildings.
NIEM said there were approximately 320 construction workers on site when the building in Bangkok collapsed at 70 people are currently missing, according to a statement published on social media. Approximately 20 workers are still trapped in the elevator shaft with the number of deaths expected to climb, NIEM continued.
Alarms reportedly went off in buildings across the Thai capital city when the earthquake hit around 1:30 p.m., according to the Associated Press.
"We were under the main Sukhumvit railway station and we thought a train had crashed on the initial tremor," a British citizen who is in the Thai capital on a business trip and wished to remain anonymous told ABC News. "But then as it continued, people started to run outside and the hotels were evacuated to the streets."
The Royal Thai Police said they are helping to evacuate people from buildings across the city into safe areas, according to a statement published on social media.
A video obtained by ABC News from a WeWork office in Bangkok shows water pouring from a rooftop swimming pool as people ran across the office towards the exits.
Two of Bangkok’s main public transportation systems, the BTS -- an elevated train line -- and the MRT, which is mostly underground, have stopped service as authorities respond to the earthquake aftermath, Thai police said.
Meanwhile, Myanmar’s ruling junta has declared a state of emergency in six regions -- Sagaing, Mandalay, Magway, northeastern Shan State, Nay Pyi Taw and Bago – after the earthquake struck the country, followed by a series of aftershocks.
Myanmar is mired in yearslong civil war, and Mandalay is one of the major cities that the junta still controls.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
ABC News' Morgan Winsor, Joe Simonetti, Karson Yiu and Helena Skinner contributed to this report.
