OAN Staff James Meyers
8:39am – Friday, March 28th, 2025
Thousands of people may have been killed after a devastating 7.7 magnitude earthquake on Friday shook Southeast Asia, bringing down large skyscrapers in Thailand and buildings, including a nearby Myanmar mosque.
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The horrifying footage revealed bodies lined up inside the tile ble as rescuers search for survivors from the powerful tremors that had their epicenter detected near Mandalay, Myanmar's second largest city.
As the total number of deaths was not immediately clear, the US Geological Survey (USGS) issued a red warning, estimated that deaths ranged between 1,000 and 10,000.
“There's a high chance of high casualty and widespread damage, and the disaster is likely to be spreading,” the federal agency warned, saying “Past red alerts require domestic or international response.”
Shallow trembling struck central Myanmar in the afternoon, followed by aftershocks of 6.4 magnitude aftershocks just minutes later.
Videos on social media have circulated the 30-storey building, which sprinted from the scene, shows a crane crumbling on a tile rub near the city's popular Chatuchak market.
Meanwhile, seven have already been pulled out of the destruction as dozens have not been recorded, Thai defense minister Phumtham Wechayachai said the area is still too unstable for rescuers to find people trapped underneath.
Bangkok Governor Chadchart Sittypant said at least two other deaths have been confirmed in the Thai capital.
Bangkok is known as over 17 million people, most of whom live in high-rise apartments.
In Myanmar, three people have been confirmed to have died in the town of Towngo when the mosque partially collapsed.
Local media also reported that at least two people were killed and 20 others were injured after the hotel collapsed in the banned city of Aung.
The USGS said the fatal earthquake struck during lunch was 7.7 magnitude and 6.2 miles deep.
As a result, sirens echoed throughout the city, vehicles flooded the streets in the aftermath, and the streets of the city shook.
Fraser Morton, a Scotland native, said he was in the mall when the trembling hit him.
“All of a sudden the whole building started moving. There was a scream and a lot of panic right away,” he said.
“I started to calm down and walk at first, but the building really started moving.
“I went outside, looked up at the building, the whole building was moving, dust and debris. It was pretty intense,” he added. “A lot of confusion.”
Furthermore, Myanmar's military has declared states of emergency in several regions in the wake of the earthquake, but the country is in the midst of a long-lasting bloody civil war, ensuring that people don't panic.
“Everything started shaking, so we all ran out of the house. I saw a five-storey building collapse in front of me. Everyone in my town is on the road and no one dares to return to the building,” one witness said. Reuters.
Experts say the pace of rapid development of Myanmar cities, combined with crumbling infrastructure and poor urban planning, makes the country's highest-populated areas vulnerable to earthquakes and other seismic disasters.
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