Thailand, Myanmar Earthquake highlights: 144 dead in Myanmar, 732 injured; Trump says US to offer help

Bangkok’s transportation is grinding to a halt.

SkyTrain and subway services have shut down.

Only buses are operating.

Traffic is heavily congested, leaving many stranded in offices.

Long queues are forming outside train stations as people wait for services to resume.

“I witnessed a five-storey building collapse in front of my eyes,” one Mandalay resident has told reporters.

“We all ran out of the house as everything started shaking … Everyone in my town is out on the road and no one dares to go back inside.”

Reuters is reporting, citing a rescue worker, that at least 30 bodies have been recovered from the site of the collapsed building in Bangkok. Earlier, authorities confirmed eight deaths in the incident, with more than 80 people reported missing.

“I have never experienced anything like this before – our town looks like a collapsed city,” he told Reuters, estimating that about a fifth of the buildings had been destroyed.

“We received calls for help from people from the inside, but we cannot help because we do not have enough manpower and machines to remove the debris, but we will not stop working”.

Responding to reporters on Friday, US President Donald Trump said his administration “has already spoken” with representatives of Myanmar and the US will be helping them out.

Earlier, Reuters reported that the US Agency for International Development (USAID) could send teams to Myanmar to help with recovery efforts.

Reuters reports citing sources that the US Agency for International Development (USAID) will send some teams to Thailand to help with recovery efforts.

Last month, the Donald Trump administration said it was eliminating more than 90 per cent of the agency’s foreign aid contracts and $60bn in overall US assistance around the world.

Hundreds of people died after Myanmar was jolted by a powerful earthquake on Friday (March 28). While the scale of devastation is unclear yet, the 7.7 magnitude quake came at a time when the Asian country is reeling from a civil war and a dire humanitarian situation.

The epicentre of the quake that also occurred along the Sagaing Fault was near Mandalay in Myanmar. The Asian country, which has been embroiled in a civil war for the past four years, is not equipped to tackle natural disasters.

Read our detailed report here .

A BBC report has claimed, citing local sources, that the worst of the damage has been seen in Myanmar’s villages.

“The situation there is even worse than in Mandalay, with more than 100 people dead in the village of Bone Oe alone,” The BBC quoted a man as saying, who was offering help to the victims in the area.

“People there need medical teams, small earthquakes are still happening, everyone is on the field and the roads as they are afraid of the aftershocks,” the man added, stating that he has seen collapsed buildings in Amarapura and Tada-U.

The man refused to identify himself fearing the military, which continues to block people’s access to certain websites and social media.

A US agency’s predictive analysis suggests that thousands of deaths and severe economic losses could result from Friday’s earthquake in Myanmar and Thailand. The worst-hit areas are expected to be Myanmar’s Sagaing and Meiktila regions.

“Overall, the population in this region resides in structures that are vulnerable to earthquake shaking, though resistant structures exist,” the USGS analysis said.

The staggering loss of lives and infrastructure in the massive earthquake and aftershocks that struck Thailand and Myanmar on Friday is expected to spell doom for businesses in India that rely on markets in these two nations.

For instance, businesses in the Western Indian state of Gujarat are fearing that communication disruption and loss to infrastructure in these two nations may hit their garment exports.

According to CNBC 18, Gujarat has strong economic ties with Myanmar and Thailand, particularly in textiles, pharmaceuticals, and chemicals. The Gujarat Association reports that the state’s textile industry exports ₹600 crore ($70 million) worth of garments and grey fabric annually to these markets.

According to experts, orders from these nations could slow, payments may get stuck, and supply chains may get strained due to the crisis there. Timber exports may also face disruption.

The military leader provided updated casualty figures from the earthquake:

Deaths: 96 in Nay Pyi Taw, 18 in Sagaing, and 30 in Mandalay.

Injuries: 132 in Nay Pyi Taw and 300 in Sagaing, with assessments ongoing in other areas.

Pope Francis has expressed his sorrow over the devastating earthquake that struck Myanmar and Thailand, the Vatican press office reported.

In a telegram post, he stated he was “deeply saddened by the loss of life and widespread devastation” caused by the disaster.

Francis offered prayers for the victims—currently estimated at more than 20—and for the emergency workers responding to the crisis.

At least eight people have died in Bangkok, the city’s governor Chadchart Sittipunt has said.

This includes seven people killed at the construction site of the collapsed high-rise.

Thailand’s Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra earlier arrived at the scene where an under-construction building collapsed in Bangkok. According to authorities, 81 people are feared trapped under the rubble.

Earlier, she addressed reporters, urging calm after an emergency meeting on the earthquake.

Meanwhile, heavy machinery has arrived at the disaster site, allowing rescue teams to begin searching for those trapped under the rubble.

According to reports, police have deployed drones to detect body heat in the search for survivors, and rescue dogs have also been deployed.

Thailand’s Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra earlier arrived at the scene where the under-construction building collapsed in Bangkok. According to authorities, 81 people are feared trapped under the rubble.

Earlier, she addressed reporters, urging calm after an emergency meeting on the earthquake.

Meanwhile, heavy machinery has arrived at the disaster site, allowing rescue teams to begin searching for those trapped under the rubble.

Myanmar’s parallel National Unity Government has announced that its anti-junta troops will help in relief efforts across the country following the massive earthquake.

Zin Mar Aung, the top diplomat of the parallel govt, said the People’s Defence Forces would be providing humanitarian help.

“It’s very serious, we need humanitarian and technical assistance from the international community,” Zin Mar Aung was quoted as saying by the Guardian.

Rows of wounded lay outside the emergency department of Myanmar’s largest hospital in Naypyidaw on Friday after a powerful earthquake shook the city. Many victims were in pain, while others sat in shock, covered in dust and blood.

A steady flow of casualties arrived—some in cars and pickups, others carried on stretchers—after the tremors damaged roads and cracked open tarmac.

Director of National Centre for Seismology (NCS) Dr OP Mishra on Friday stated that the six earthquakes that jolted Myanmar were on the longest fault line, Sagaing Fault, which stretches to 1200 km.

Further, he stated that this was not the first occurrence of an earthquake above 7 on the Richter scale.

Speaking to ANI, Mishra said “It occurred in the longest fault in Myanmar, Sagaing Fault. Its length is 1200 km. This fault has generated several earthquakes in the past of magnitude more than 7. This is not the first earthquake with magnitude 7.”

The Thai government’s public relations department posted on X: “His Majesty the King of Thailand has instructed the Rajaprajanugroh Foundation to deploy a relief unit for earthquake victims in Chatuchak, Bangkok. Initial aid includes 500 meal boxes, drinking water, and three tents for the injured and rescue operations.”

National Center for Seismology wrote on X: “Today’s Myanmar Earthquake of M: 7.5 occured at 11:50:52 IST in Mandalay. This earthquake triggered by the causative Sagaing fault of 1200 km east of the Indo-Burma subduction zone.The rupture direction is towards Bangkok, Thailand causing severe damage to structures in the region due to liquefactions and matching of earthquake shaking frequency with the spectral frequency of the structures.”

It added, “Aftershock of M: 7.0 occured within 12 minutes about 90 Km SW of the mainshock. Total 6 aftershocks of different magnitude range M: 4.0 to M: 7.0 were”.

The Indian government body said tremors and aftershocks were also felt in northeastern India.

The WHO said it had triggered its emergency management system in response to Friday’s “huge” earthquake in Myanmar and was mobilising its logistics hub in Dubai to prepare trauma injury supplies.

The World Health Organization is coordinating its earthquake response from its Geneva headquarters “because we see this as a huge event” with “clearly a very, very big threat to life and health”, spokeswoman Margaret Harris told a media briefing.

“We’ve activated our logistics hub to look particularly for trauma supplies and things like external fixators because we expect that there will be many, many injuries that need to be dealt with,” Harris said.

She said the WHO would also be concentrating on getting in essential medicines, while the health infrastructure in Myanmar itself might be damaged.

Harris said that due to recent experience with the 2023 Turkey-Syria earthquakes, “we know very well what you need to send in first”.

The UN health agency already has a special cell to deal with Myanmar, which has been rocked by fighting between numerous ethnic rebel groups and the army.

And by chance, the WHO had done an assessment in recent weeks of the best ways to get supplies into Myanmar.

“We are ready to move in — but now we have to know exactly where, what and why. It’s information from the ground that’s really critical right now,” said Harris.

(With inputs from AFP)

UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy has described the earthquakes in Myanmar as “devastating.”

He urged British nationals in Myanmar and Thailand to follow government guidance and added, “Our thoughts are with those affected at this difficult time.”

Here is the statement issued by Air India

“Air India would like to inform all passengers that its operations from Bangkok continue as per schedule, despite the earthquake earlier today. The safety and well-being of our guests and crew remain our top priority.”

As scenes of destruction unfold, we take a closer look at what’s the impact of the quake and how prone Myanmar is to seismic activity.

Read our detailed report here .

Indian Foreign Secretary Jaideep Muzumdar on Friday said that the upcoming BIMSTEC Summit in Bangkok, to be attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, will be held as usual after a 7.7 magnitude struck Myanmar, followed by tremors in Thailand.

“We are in touch with authorities in Bangkok. Nothing to indicate any impact it will have on the summit,” Mazumar said.

PM Modi will visit Thailand’s capital city, Bangkok, from April 3 to 4 at the invitation of Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra to attend the 6th BIMSTEC Summit.

In Bangkok, a building collapse killed at least three workers, with 81 more feared trapped under the rubble. Rescue efforts are ongoing, and authorities have reported multiple injuries.

The earthquake also caused brief power outages across northern Thailand, including Chiang Mai, where residents described the tremors as the strongest they had ever experienced.

About 20 people have died at a major hospital in Myanmar’s capital after a huge earthquake hit the country, causing widespread destruction, a doctor told AFP.

“About 20 people died after they arrived at our hospital so far. Many people were injured,” said the doctor at the 1,000-bed general hospital in Naypyidaw, who requested anonymity.

Indian Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri has issued the following statement:

“We are currently analysing report of damage primarily in Myanmar. We are in touch with the authorities in Myanmar and are also looking at the exact requirements in terms of the assistance and relief material that might be required. India has always been the first responder in the neighbourhood whenever these kinds of natural disasters have taken place.”