‘Mass Casualty’ Quake Rocks Myanmar, Thailand

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On Friday, a major hospital in the country’s capital became a “mass casualty area” as a result of a powerful earthquake that affected Myanmar and neighboring Thailand, trapping dozens of workers in a Bangkok skyscraper under construction.

The United States Geological Survey reported that the 7.7-magnitude tremor struck northwest of Sagaing at a shallow depth on Friday afternoon. Minutes later, a 6. 4-magnitude aftershock struck the same area.

Buildings were shattered by the earthquakes, especially in Myanmar, where the well-known Ava bridge collapsed close to the epicentre and roads were left open and roads cracked open.

After an earthquake in central Myanmar, a survivor of an earthquake is transported in a hospital’s compound on March 28, 2025. On March 28, a powerful earthquake shook central Myanmar, buckling the roads in the capital Naypyidaw, inflicting damage to buildings, and forcing residents of neighboring Thailand to flee into the streets. Sai Aung MAIN/AFP photo

After an earthquake in central Myanmar, medical staffs in Naypyidaw hospital’s compound transported a casualty. On March 28, a powerful earthquake shook central Myanmar, buckling the roads in the capital Naypyidaw, inflicting damage to buildings, and forcing residents of neighboring Thailand to flee into the streets. Sai Aung MAIN/AFP photo

After an earthquake in central Myanmar, damage was visible to a portion of a hospital’s emergency room on March 28, 2025. On March 28, a major hospital in the country’s capital became a “mass casualty area” as a result of a powerful earthquake that struck Myanmar and neighboring Thailand, trapping dozens of workers in a Bangkok skyscraper under construction. (Sebastien BERGER/AFP photo)

Journalists in the city’s capital Naypyidaw witnessed a car being swept onto the entrance of the city’s main hospital.

In the 1, 000-bed facility, inside their gurneys were the patients who were receiving intravenous drips. Some squatted in pain while relatives sought comfort in lying still.

A hospital official led reporters away, claiming that “this is a large casualty area.”

According to another official, the facility had received hundreds of injured people.

“I haven’t seen (something) like this before,” she said. We are attempting to resolve the issue. A doctor told AFP, “I’m so exhausted right now.

There were too many vehicles blocking the hospital’s route. A paramedic yells, “cars, move aside so the ambulance can get through,” as an ambulance attempts to make its way through.

Pieces fell from the ceiling at the city’s National Museum as the building shook. Uniformed staff members rushed outside, some trembling and weeping, while others grabbing phones to attempt to contact loved ones.

After an earthquake in central Myanmar, earthquake survivors wait for medical attention in a hospital’s buildings on March 28, 2025. On March 28, a major hospital in the country’s capital became a “mass casualty area” as a result of a powerful earthquake that struck Myanmar and neighboring Thailand, trapping dozens of workers in a Bangkok skyscraper under construction. (Sebastien BERGER/AFP photo)

After an earthquake, a man who was hurt at a construction site in Bangkok on March 28, 2025, is unharmed. On March 28, a powerful earthquake shook central Myanmar, buckling the roads in the capital Naypyidaw, inflicting damage to buildings, and forcing residents of neighboring Thailand to flee into the streets. (Photo by Lillian Suwanrupha/AFP)

Skyscraper collapse

Strong tremors sent people from many cities flooding into the streets in panic across Thailand, where strong earthquakes are uncommon.

A 30-storey building in Bangkok collapsed, trapping 43 workers, according to police and medical personnel.

According to footage shared on social media, the massive structure that houses the government offices was quickly reduced to a jumble of rubble and twisted metal.

A photographer who was able to capture the scene at the site, which is close to the city’s sprawling Chatuchak market, a tourist and local favorite destination, witnessed rescue vehicles and ambulances there.

When I arrived to inspect the site, I overheard Bang Sue district deputy police chief Worapat Sukthai saying, “I heard people saying help me.”

He said, “We estimate that hundreds of people have been injured, but we are still trying to figure out how many are casual.”

Unsure how to deal with the unusual quake, stunned locals rushed outside across Bangkok and Chiang Mai, a northern tourist destination, where the power briefly went out.

When the store started the shake, Sai, 76, was employed by a minimart in the city’s northern city.

He said, “I quickly rushed out of the store along with other customers.”

The strongest tremor I’ve ever experienced is “the strongest.”

Following an earthquake, a building in Bangkok collapsed on March 28, 2025, standing next to the debris of a construction site. On March 28, a powerful earthquake shook central Myanmar, buckling the roads in the capital Naypyidaw, inflicting damage to buildings, and forcing residents of neighboring Thailand to flee into the streets. (Photo by Lillian Suwanrupha/AFP)

After an earthquake in central Myanmar, a man walks along a ruined road in Naypyidaw on March 28, 2025. A major hospital in the Burmese capital became a “mass casualty area” as a result of a devastating earthquake that struck Myanmar and neighboring Thailand on March 28 and trapped dozens of workers in a Bangkok skyscraper under construction. Sai Aung MAIN/AFP photo

After an earthquake in central Myanmar left a woman recovering in a hospital in Naypyidaw on March 28, 2025, blood can be seen on her face. On March 28, a powerful earthquake shook central Myanmar, buckling the roads in the capital Naypyidaw, inflicting damage to buildings, and forcing residents of neighboring Thailand to flee into the streets. Sai Aung MAIN/AFP photo

Following an earthquake, a building in Bangkok collapsed on March 28, 2025, revealing construction site debris. On March 28, a powerful earthquake shook central Myanmar, buckling the roads in the capital Naypyidaw, inflicting damage to buildings, and forcing residents of neighboring Thailand to flee into the streets. (Photo by Lillian Suwanrupha/AFP)

Buildings ruined

Thai Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra’s decision to declare a state of emergency in Bangkok further snarling the city’s already notorious traffic further added.

Airports were still in business.

The prime minister claimed earlier that she had canceled an official meeting scheduled for the southern island of Phuket in response to the earthquake, according to a post on X.

China, Cambodia, Bangladesh, and India all reported tremors in the area, with Bangladesh and India also reporting tremors.

Around a dozen emergency workers in orange jumpsuits and helmets were seen in a livestream of the state-linked Beijing News, standing behind a cordon on a street strewn with fallen masonry in the city of Ruili, on the Chinese-Burma border.

A female shop worker who was interviewed on the livestream recorded a photo of people running out of stores while their hands were crossed over their heads as tremors swept through the street before returning when what was thought to be a nearby burst pipe drew them to safety.

A torrent of water and debris cascaded down from the roof of a high-rise block in Ruili as people fled through a street market below in a video posted on Douyin, the Chinese version of TikTok, and AFP geolocated a video.

India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi stated that his nation was prepared to “offer any assistance” to Myanmar and Thailand and that it had put authorities on standby for inquiries.

According to the USGS, there were six quakes of 7.0 magnitude or more that struck Myanmar between 1930 and 1956 near the Sagaing Fault, which runs north to south through the country’s center.