A 1,000-bed hospital in Myanmar capital Naypyidaw is a likely "mass casualty area", news agency AFP said Friday after a 7.7 magnitude earthquake struck near the city of Sagaing, which is 260km away.
At least 20 deaths have been confirmed from the hospital so far, but doctors there told news agency AFP (on condition of anonymity) they expect the toll to rise rapidly into the hundreds.
AFP said scenes from outside the building showed injured people being treated on the streets, with intravenous drips hanging from gurneys as family and loved ones comforted them. "I haven't seen (something) like this before. We are trying to handle it but I'm so exhausted," a doctor said.
AFP also said "a stream of casualties" were spotted arriving at the hospital, which itself was heavily damaged; a car was crushed under the heavy concrete of its fallen entrance.
Across Myanmar the earthquake also damaged residential buildings in Mandalay and destroyed the old bridge over the Irrawaddy River. A monastery on the border with Thailand was also destroyed.
After the initial earthquake, tremors were felt as far away as northern Thailand, where some metro services were suspended in Bangkok; one video showed a metro, stopped at the platform, shaking violently. Thai Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra has declared a state of 'emergency' in the city.
Also, 81 people were trapped after an under-construction, 30-floor building in Bangkok's Chatuchak collapsed entirely. The building - intended for government offices - was reduced to a tangle of rubble and twisted metal in seconds, footage on social media showed. Three deaths have been reported.
READ | 7.7-Magnitude Quake In Myanmar, Strong Tremors In Bangkok, 43 Trapped
"When I arrived to inspect the site, I heard people calling for help, saying help me," Worapat Sukthai, Deputy Police Chief of Bang Sue district, told AFP. "We estimate that hundreds of people are injured but we are still determining the number of casualties," he added.
China's Yunnan province also reported strong tremors; the China Earthquake Networks Center said the magnitude was 7.9. And mild tremors were also reported from Kolkata in Bengal and parts of Manipur, as well as Dhaka and Chattogram in Bangladesh, news agency PTI said.
Earthquake Videos Online
Terrifying videos on X showed buildings shaking in Bangkok and other cities, with people running onto the streets in panic. "I heard it... I was sleeping in the house and then I ran as far as I could in my pyjamas out of the building," Duangjai, a resident of popular tourist city Chiang Mai, told AFP.
READ | Quake Panic In Myanmar, Bangkok As Buildings Collapse
In Myanmar, an old bridge over the Irrawaddy River and some residential buildings collapsed, with images from Mandalay (around 24km from Sagaing) suggesting more people may be trapped.
Other videos showed extensive damage to the airport in Mandalay and to a monastery near the city of Taunggyi, in Myanmar's Shan State that is on the border to Thailand.
With input from agencies
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