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A high-rise building under construction in Bangkok collapsed after a 7.7 magnitude earthquake rocked Thailand and neighbouring Myanmar this afternoon, police said, and possible casualties are not yet known.
A dramatic video circulated on social media showed the multi-storey building with a crane on top collapsing into a cloud of dust, while onlookers screamed and ran.
Police told the Associated Press they were responding to the scene near Bangkok’s popular Chatuchak Market, and had no immediate information on how many workers were on the site at the time of the collapse.
The midday temblor was followed by a strong 6.4 magnitude aftershock, and people in Bangkok evacuated from their buildings were cautioned to stay outside in case there were more.
The US Geological Survey and Germany’s GFZ centre for geosciences said the earthquake was a shallow 10 kilometres, with an epicenter in Myanmar, according to preliminary reports.
Water from high-rise rooftop pools in Bangkok sloshed over the side as they shook, and debris fell from many buildings.
Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra called an emergency meeting to assess the impact of the quake.
The greater Bangkok area is home to more than 17 million people, many of whom live in high-rise apartments.
Alarms went off in buildings as the earthquake hit around 1.30pm (local time), and startled residents were evacuated down staircases of high-rise condominiums and hotels in densely populated central Bangkok.
They remained in the streets, seeking shade from the midday sun in the minutes after the quake.
Thailand’s Department of Disaster Prevention said the quake was felt in almost all regions of the country.
The epicentre of the earthquake was in central Myanmar, about 50 kilometres east of the city of Monywa.
In the capital Naypyitaw, the quake damaged religious shrines, sending parts toppling to the ground, and some homes.
Further reports of damage were not immediately available from Myanmar, which is embroiled in a civil war.