Over 140 dead in Myanmar and Thailand after huge earthquake

A huge 7.7 magnitude earthquake has hit central Myanmar, according to the United States Geological Survey (USGS).

At least 144 people have died and 732 have been injured so far in the country, Myanmar military leader Min Aung Hlaing said.

The epicentre was 16km (10 miles) north-west of the city of Sagaing, at a depth of 10km, sending strong tremors that were felt as far as south-west China and Thailand.

Meanwhile, 81 construction workers are missing after an unfinished high-rise building collapsed hundreds of miles away in Bangkok, according to Thailand's deputy prime minister.

At least seven people have died at the site in Thailand, according to the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration.

A rescuer in Mandalay, Myanmar's second-largest city, told the BBC the damage is "enormous".

The total number of people killed and injured by the earthquake are expected to rise in the coming days.

There have been reports of roads buckling in the capital of Nay Pyi Taw, and the country's military government has declared a state of emergency in six regions.

The earthquake struck near Mandalay, which has a population of about 1.5 million people.

A second quake struck 12 minutes after the first, according to the USGS, with a magnitude of 6.4 and its epicentre was 18km (11.1 miles) south of Sagaing.

Soe Lwin, in Myanmar's largest city, Yangon, said he felt the first earthquake for a "long time" and added that residents are worried about the potential for more aftershocks.

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Bui Thu, a BBC journalist who lives in Bangkok, told the BBC World Service's Newsday programme that she was at home cooking when the initial quake happened.

"I was very nervous, I was very panicked," she said.

"Buildings in Bangkok are not engineered for earthquakes, so I think that's why I think there's going to be big damage."

Thailand's Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra visited the site of the collapsed building on Friday afternoon. Search and rescue teams are have been mobilised and disaster centres set up to help with the rescue operation.

Similar rescue efforts have been hampered by the political turmoil in Myanmar, which has faced a brutal civil war since a military junta seized power in a 2021 coup.

Following the quake, the junta made a rare appeal for international assistance, declaring a state of emergency across six regions.

The earthquake has added pressure to the humanitarian situation in the country, where 3.5m people are estimated to have been displaced by fighting.

The Sagaing region, near the epicentre of the quake, is a volatile key battleground in the civil war.

According to a recent BBC data project, the country is now controlled by a patchwork of groups, making relief and recovery efforts more challenging.

The state controls almost all local radio, television, print and online media, and Internet use is restricted in the country, which often makes access to information difficult.