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A construction worker who narrowly escapes from a building that collapsed in Bangkok after the Myanmar earthquake tells CNN what it was like in the chaotic moments following the quake.
Sunan Kenkiat, 31, was working on the fire sprinkler system at the building before it collapsed on Friday. The Thai government said up to 81 people were feared trapped under the rubble.
“It was shaking and I felt dizzy,” Kenkiat told CNN of the moment the high-rise building began to rock. “After that, debris like cement pieces started falling down, and the shaking got stronger, so I shouted for everyone to run.”He then heard three “booms,” and his eyes filled with white dust — and he knew he the building was about to give way.
“After the boom, I couldn’t see anything. I was just running to find a way out,” Kenkiat said. “I started looking for my coworkers. Things got chaotic, and people were starting to leave.”
“My body was covered in white dust,” he said. “When I got outside, the rescue team helped wipe off the dust. I thought if I hadn’t been able to avoid cement slab, I might have died from the dust.”
Three members of Kenkiat’s team were stuck inside the building, he said. “Right now, we’re still waiting, hoping the rescue team will find them.”
A CNN team on the ground in Bangkok report seeing waves of rescue teams responding to the site of the collapse. K9 dogs were seen being brought in to sniff for survivors.
CNN’s Mark Phillips contributed reporting to this post.
Amnesty International has urged the Myanmar’s ruling military junta to allow access to humanitarian aid for all areas affected by the damaging earthquake.
“Central Myanmar, which is believed to be the epicenter of the earthquake, has been ravaged by military air strikes and clashes between resistance groups and the military,” he added.
Large areas of Myanmar are run by a patchwork of militias, making it very difficult to gather reliable information.
“Myanmar’s military has a longstanding practice of denying aid to areas where groups who resist it are active. It must immediately allow unimpeded access to all humanitarian organizations and remove administrative barriers delaying needs assessments,” Freeman said.
“In a country where the military has banned many media outlets and internet access is restricted, we may not have a clear picture of the extent of damage and loss for some time,” he added. “That there appear to be more images and information coming out of Thailand than the epicenter in Myanmar is a startling reminder of the military’s crushing of press freedom since the 2021 coup.”
Friday’s earthquake in Myanmar ruptured along the Sagaing Fault, a major fault that is part of the complicated tectonic plate structure of the Tibetan Plateau. The fault formed when the Indian subcontinent rammed into Asia tens of millions of years ago.
The Sagaing fault is the crack in the earth that separates two tectonic plates moving in opposite directions. Those plates are moving past each other at a rate of 0.7 inches (18 mm) per year — a significant amount of movement. If you build a fence across this fault line, it will shift in different directions and would be 7 inches apart in 10 years. That movement represents the stress that builds up along the fault and is released every decade or so in a massive earthquake.
Here’s more on the earthquake:
- Friday’s earthquake is certainly the largest to hit Myanmar since 1946 and likely the strongest in modern times. The 1946 quake was estimated to be 7.6 to 7.7 and also occurred along the Sagaing Fault.
- Friday’s earthquake is the first 7.0-magnitude or greater earthquake in Myanmar since 1991, when a 7.0 struck about 100 miles north of Friday’s.
- A 7.7-magnitude earthquake struck just across the border in China about 200 miles east of the current quake in 1988, according to the US Geological Survey. It killed 730 people.
The last time there was a quake on land of such magnitude was the 2023 Turkey earthquake, which killed more than 50,000 people.
The Myanmar earthquake has a similar shaking and loss estimate as the Turkey quake did at the time: The United States Geological Survey warned the Turkey quake exposed about 750,000 people to violent shaking; the Myanmar quake exposed around 800,000 people to violent shaking. Significantly, Myanmar has double the number of people exposed to violent and severe (level 8 and 9) shaking, nearly 5 million versus the Turkey earthquake’s 2.7 million.
Electricity and internet are down in several parts of Myanmar on Friday following a major earthquake, including in the cities of Mandalay and Sagaing, the Red Cross says.
The organization said in a social media post that major damage has been reported in Mandalay, Sagaing, Naypyitaw, Bago and Southern Shan.
The Myanmar Red Cross Society said it is providing first aid and has deployed a response team to Mandalay.
Internet watchdog Netblocks said data show a disruption to internet connectivity in Myanmar following a series of earthquakes.
“The outages are attributed to power cuts and downed telecoms lines which are hindering rescue efforts,” Netblocks said on X.
The Red Cross also reports that there are concerns about damage to large dams following the quake.
“Public infrastructure has been damaged including roads, bridges and public buildings. We currently have concerns for large scale dams that people are watching to see the conditions of them,” said Marie Manrique, Myanmar Program Coordinator for the International Federation of the Red Cross.
“We anticipate the impact to be quite large,” Manrique said in a news conference, speaking via videolink from Yangon, Myanmar.
The situation in Thailand is “starting to ease” and people can safely return indoors, the Thai prime minister has said, after a huge quake in neighboring Myanmar toppled a building, closed schools and created an “emergency zone” in the Thai capital of Bangkok.
“It is now safe for everyone to return to their accommodations,” Thai Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra said in a statement on Friday evening. “The buildings with issues are those under construction, where both structural integrity and wall stability are concerns.”
Around 12 aftershocks have been felt since the quake, Shinawatra said, but there is no risk of a tsunami because the quake occured far enough inland.
“We want to reassure the public that the aftershocks following this event will not pose a significant threat. Residents of high-rise buildings that sustained minor damage can safely return to their residences,” she said.
Bangkok was declared an “emergency zone” following the quake, and people there were told to evacuate high-rise buildings.
At least three people died in the city after a building under construction in near the city’s Chatuchak Park collapsed. Rescue crews are racing to free 81 people who are trapped under the rubble of that building, Reuters reported, citing a Thai deputy prime minister. The building was under construction at the time of collapse.
The true scale of the damage caused by the large 7.7-magnitude earthquake that hit Myanmar on Friday remains unclear at this stage, with years of civil war meaning it is difficult to gather reliable information from the country.
However, scientists and other experts have been giving clues as to the extent of the chaos on the ground as the country — which is ill-equipped to deal with natural disasters — reels from the catastrophe.
Hari Kumar, a civil engineer and regional coordinator for the NGO GeoHazards International in South Asia, told CNN he has heard from friends that the Mandalay General Hospital in Myanmar is full and no longer admitting patients. “Which is absolutely sad because that’s the only hospital (in the area) available to the public. There are obviously many, many people coming in with injuries,” he said.
Kumar added that he understands the Mandalay hospital is out of power and water. “Their capacity to be able to treat patients would be limited now, which is really sad,” he said.
Meanwhile a seismologist told CNN that the powerful 7.7-magnitude quake that rocked Myanmar is like a “great knife cut into the Earth.”
James Jackson, from the University of Cambridge in England, said the earthquake was caused by a rupture that lasted for “a full minute,” causing sideways movements on the ground.
“Think of a piece of paper tearing, and it tears at about two kilometers per second,” he said. “It’s moving a fault, which is like a great knife cut in the Earth.”
He said while Bangkok doesn’t have earthquakes, its tall buildings make the city particularly vulnerable to distant tremors.
Fabrice Cotton, a seismologist at the GFZ Center, told CNN that the earthquake was comparable in size to one that struck Turkey in 2023. More than 55,000 people are thought to have been killed in Turkey and Syria during that disaster.
A high-rise building in the Thai capital of Bangkok that collapsed after a 7.7-magnitude quake hit neighboring Myanmar on Monday was being built by a Chinese state-ownedcompany, according to a previous statement from the company.
The 30-story skyscraper, which had been under construction and was reduced to rubble in seconds when the tremor hit, was the new office of the State Audit Office of Thailand, according to Thailand’s National Institute for Emergency Medicine.
It was being built by a subsidiary of the China Railway No.10 Engineering Group, which is itself a subsidiary of the state-owned China Railway Engineering Corporation (CREC), one of the world’s largest construction and engineering contractors, according to a now-deleted social media post by China Railway No.10 Engineering Group.
In a post on its official WeChat account on April 2, 2024, China Railway No.10 Engineering Group celebrated the completion of the building’s main structure on March 31, 2024.
When completed, the 137-meter building was to serve as the office of Thailand’s State Audit Office and other related government agencies, as well as “a showcase project representing China Railway No.10 Engineering Group’s presence and development in Thailand,” the company said in the post.
The post, which was seen by CNN, was deleted late Friday afternoon after screenshots of it started to circulate on Chinese social media.
CNN has reached out to the company for comment.
Officials have said around 320 people were at the construction site at Chatuchak Park at the time of the collapse.
Thai rescue officials are still trying to figure out exactly how many people are trapped under the rubble.
Dozens of people remain unreachable and the National Institute of Emergency Medicine said 20 workers were also stuck in a lift on the site.
More on the Bangkok high-rise: Chinese state media reported in 2021 that the project was awarded to a joint venture formed by China Railway No.10 Engineering Group and the Italian-Thai Development Public Company Limited.
“China Railway No.10 Engineering Group serves as the main contractor and is solely responsible for the implementation of the project,” People’s Daily Online, a state-run news website, reported.
A Bangkok resident recalled how he witnessed the collapse of a building, in a state of panic from his car.
Jack Brown, who has lived in Bangkok for 10 years, said he was driving on an elevated expressway in the city when the earthquake hit.
“Nobody was driving orderly. And then suddenly, we just see the collapse of the building right in front of us on the left hand side,” he said.
“My initial thought was that if anybody is in that building, then 100% it’s going to be fatalities for sure,” he added. “It’s been quite an ordeal.”
At least one person was reported killed and 50 others injured after the high-rise building, in an area called Chatuchak, crumbled.
Brown described Bangkok as being stuck in a “gridlock” since the quake, with people waiting to return to their homes and workplaces.
He said many people were “caught off guard” by the earthquake, because Bangkok is not prone to them.
The 7.7-magnitude earthquake damaged parts of the Mandalay Royal Palace complex in Myanmar on Friday.
A gaping hole was seen in several sections of the wall surrounding the royal palace of the last Burmese monarchy, according to images published by state broadcaster MRTV.
Some background: The palace, located in northern Mandalay, was initially constructed between 1857 and 1859 as part of King Mindon’s founding of the new royal capital city.
It remains one of the country’s most historical sites and was a popular tourist attraction before the junta seized power in 2021.
Myanmar’s military junta has confirmed that the nation is facing multiple fatalities and injuries following Friday’s earthquake.
“Many civilians were killed and injured” by the 7.7 magnitude earthquake that hit central Myanmar, according to Myanmar state media.
“Several injured people” are in hospitals in central Sagaing and Mandalay near the epicenter, as well as in the capital Napyidaw, “ MRTV said.
Those hospitals need blood “therefore, blood donors are requested to immediately contact the respective hospitals for the donation,” MRTV said.
A seismologist told CNN that the powerful 7.7-magnitude quake that rocked Myanmar is like a “great knife cut into the Earth.”
James Jackson, from the University of Cambridge in England, said the earthquake was caused by a rupture that lasted for “a full minute,” causing sideways movements on the ground.
“Think of a piece of paper tearing, and it tears at about two kilometers per second,” he said.
“It’s moving a fault, which is like a great knife cut in the Earth,” he added.
He said while Bangkok doesn’t have earthquakes, its tall buildings make the city particularly vulnerable to distant tremors.
The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said initial reports indicate “significant damage,” following the 7.7-magnitude earthquake that hit Myanmar.
“Our thoughts are with everyone impacted by this event,” Christina Powell, Humanitarian Affairs Officer for OCHA said in an email.
The most affected areas are in the center of the country, in the Mandalay region as well as Nay Phi Taw, Bago, Magway, Sagaing, Shan and other areas, Powell said. The epicenter of the earthquake was located in the Mandalay area.
“We are gathering information about the people impacted, infrastructure damage, and immediate humanitarian needs to guide a response and will share more updates as information becomes available,” Powell said.
Thailand has ordered the closure of schools nationwide as authorities assess damage after the 7.7-magnitude earthquake struck neighboring Myanmar, sending tremors across the country and toppling buildings as far away as Bangkok.
Phumtham Wechayachai, deputy prime minister and the minister of commerce, said such an event has “never happened in 100 years.”
“The Ministry of Education has ordered the closure of all schools nationwide, instructing students to return home,” Phumtham said.
Thai authorities are urging people in high-rise buildings “to evacuate immediately” following the deadly collapse of a building in the capital Bangkok.
High-rise buildings are being inspected “with the utmost caution,” the deputy prime minister said, and hospitals have been urged to check for structural damage.
The Ministry of Public Health and the Ministry of Education have coordinated relief efforts, while the Ministry of Defense has established a command center to ensure that all government officials are informed, the official said.
Three people been confirmed dead in Thailand’s capital after a strong earthquake that struck neighboring Myanmar, Thailand’s Deputy Prime Minister said on Friday.
There are two locations where buildings have collapsed, said Phumtham Wechayachai.
Dozens of people are missing, after an under construction building in Chatuchak, Bangkok, collapsed this afternoon.
Rescue teams are also searching for missing people at a three-story building in the Bang Khun Thian of Bangkok.
Police dogs have been deployed to assist in the search operations, along with drones, deputy prime minister Phumtham Wechayachai said.
He said the top priority was rescuing as many survivors as possible and that extreme caution was being taken with rescue efforts. “If any signs of life are detected, responders will knock and mark the area,” he said, adding that heavy equipment would only be used when the was a clear location of a survivor.
Thailand’s Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra is cutting her visit to Phuket short and will return to the capital Bangkok as authorities assess the damage from Friday’s powerful earthquake.
Paetongtarn is expected to arrive back in Bangkok around 5 p.m. local time, according to Deputy Prime Minister Phumtham Wechayachai, after which an emergency meeting will be held.
The prime minister was in Phuket for scheduled meetings at the time of the earthquake.
People in Bangkok were plunged into confusion when a powerful 7.7-magnitiude quake hit neighboring Myanmar, an international school teacher in the Thai capital told CNN.
Stewart Beyer, a music teacher at Berkeley International School, recalled how the seriousness of the situation sank in only after he was evacuated from the school.
“I looked up to see a guitar swinging on the wall. And then we go outside and you’ll see, I think, a video of this of the pool sloshing around,” he said.
The teacher said some of the students from his school are from Myanmar.
“There were students that when we were waiting for their parents to come and get them that are breaking down, wondering what is happening to their family,” he said.
Erik Honan was visiting a friend in Pattaya, a coastal city about 60 miles south of the Thai capital Bangkok, when he noticed his glass of water on a coffee table started moving back and forth.
“The building felt like it was level but moving in a circular fashion,” Honan told CNN. “I knew immediately what it was.”
Thailand’s Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra declared Bangkok an “emergency zone” Friday after a strong 7.7-magnitude quake rocked Southeast Asia.
Honan said he and his friends — who were “scared to death” — quickly evacuated the building.
“We raced down the stairs and were met with many Thais wondering what was going on,” he said.
Honan is originally from Seattle, in the United States, where earthquakes are common. But that didn’t stop him from feeling alarmed.
“It was very unnerving being in a large building and Mother Nature was having its way, like swatting a fly.”
The powerful 7.7-magnitude earthquake that hit Myanmar was “not an unexpected event,” Shengji Wei, principal investigator at the Earth Observatory of Singapore told CNN’s Rahel Solomon.
Friday’s earthquake occurred along a segment of the Sagaing Fault, a major geological fault line that has historically seen big earthquakes, said Wei, who has been investigating the “seismic hazard” in Myanmar for 10 years.
“It has been quiet since about 200 years ago. Based on these historical studies as well as modern geophysical investigations, we (knew) that this place, this segment of the fault, (was) likely to rupture as a big earthquake in the near future,” Wei said, adding that he had communicated the risk to the Myanmar government and local scientists.
“So this earthquake, to us, was not unexpected.”
Thai rescue officials are still trying to figure out exactly how many people are trapped under the rubble of a building in Bangkok that collapsed after a quake hit neighboring Myanmar.
Dozens of people remain unreachable and the National Institute of Emergency Medicine (NIEM) said 20 workers were also stuck in a lift on the site.
In its latest update, NIEM said the precise number of people killed is not known. Earlier it had reported one death.
The building, which was under construction, has been identified as the new State Audit Office for the Kingdom of Thailand.
Officials have said around 320 people were at the construction site at Chatuchak Park at the time of the collapse.
NIEM said 50 people were injured and 40 of those were taken to hospital.
The 7.7-magnitude quake that rocked central Myanmar is about as powerful as the tremor that rocked Turkey and Syria two years ago, a geophysicist from the US National Earthquake Information Center said.
William Yeck told CNN that he and his colleagues had categorized the Friday quake as a “high impact” event.
“We consider it a red event because there’s a population density. It’s a large event. It’s shallow. So we expect strong shaking,” he said.
“For context of the size, a magnitude 7.7 is about the size of the Turkey earthquake we saw in 2023,” he said. “That was quite destructive.”
The 7.8-magnitude quake that struck central Turkey and western Syria in 2023 killed more than 53,000 people, but the number of casualties often depends on myriad factors including population density, how earthquake-proof the area is and whether it hits during the day or night.
Yeck also warned of possibly more aftershocks to come. “People should be prepared for more shaking [for those] who live in the region,” he said.
