Massive quake rocks Myanmar, Thailand

HUNDREDS FEARED DEAD

Rescuers workers attend to a high-rise building under construction that collapsed after a 7.7-magnitude earthquake Friday in Bangkok. The death toll in Myanmar initially was more than 140, but the U.S. Geological Survey says the number could be close to 1,000. PHOTOS BY WASON WANICHAKORN —THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

A woman watches rescuers at a building that collapsed in the earthquake Friday in Bangkok. At least 10 were dead in Thailand.

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By David Rising and Jintamas Saksornchai

The Associated Press

BANGKOK>> A powerful earthquake rocked Myanmar on Friday, causing extensive damage across a wide swath of one of the world’s poorest countries and prompting officials to warn that the initial death toll — above 140 — was likely to grow in the days ahead. In neighboring Thailand, at least 10 died in Bangkok, where a high-rise under construction collapsed.

The full extent of death, injury and destruction was not immediately clear — particularly in Myanmar, which is embroiled in a civil war, and where information is controlled tightly.

“The death toll and injuries are expected to rise,” the head of Myanmar’s military government, Senior Gen. Min Aung Hlaing said as he announced on television that at least 144 people were killed and 730 others were injured in his country.

In Thailand, authorities in Bangkok said 10 people were killed, 16 injured and 101 missing from three construction sites, including the high-rise.

The 7.7-magnitude quake struck at midday, with an epicenter near Mandalay, Myanmar’s second-largest city. Aftershocks followed, one of them measuring a strong 6.4 magnitude.

Myanmar is in an active earthquake belt, although many of the temblors happen in sparsely populated areas, not cities such as those affected Friday. The U.S. Geological Survey, an American government science agency, estimated that the death toll could top 1,000.

In Mandalay, the earthquake brought down buildings, including one of the city’s largest monasteries.

In the capital city of Naypyidaw, rescue crews pulled victims from the rubble of buildings used to house civil servants.

Myanmar’s government said blood was in high demand in the hardest-hit areas. In a country where prior governments sometimes have been slow to accept foreign aid, Min Aung Hlaing said Myanmar was ready to accept assistance. The United Nations allocated $5 million to start relief efforts.

But amid images of buckled and cracked roads and reports of a collapsed bridge and a burst dam, there were concerns about how rescuers would reach some areas in a country enduring a humanitarian crisis.

“We fear it may be weeks before we understand the full extent of destruction caused by this earthquake,” said Mohammed Riyas, the International Rescue Committee’s Myanmar director.

In a country where many people were struggling, “this disaster will have left people devastated,” said Julie Mehigan, who oversees Christian Aid’s work in Asia, the Middle East and Europe. “Even before this heartbreaking earthquake, we know conflict and displacement has left countless people in real need,” Mehigan said.

In Thailand, a 33-story building under construction crumpled into a cloud of dust near Bangkok’s popular Chatuchak market, and onlookers could be seen screaming and running in a video posted on social media. Vehicles on a nearby freeway came to a stop.

Sirens blared across the Thai capital’s downtown as a rescuers streamed to the wreckage.

“It’s a great tragedy,” Deputy Prime Minister Suriya Juangroongruangkit said.

Although the area is prone to earthquakes, they rarely are felt in the Bangkok metropolitan area, home to more than 17 million people.

Many live in high-rise apartments.