Nations reel after 'mass casualty' earthquakes

A POWERFUL earthquake and tremors hit Myanmar and Thailand yesterday, killing dozens. Rescuers searched for people trapped in collapsed buildings and the death toll expected to rise.

- 

A POWERFUL earthquake and tremors hit Myanmar and Thailand yesterday, killing more than 150 people and injuring hundreds, with dozens trapped in collapsed buildings and the death toll expected to rise.

The earthquake and its aftershock turned a hospital in Myanmar's capital, Naypyitaw, into a "mass-casualty area" and trapped dozens of workers in a skyscraper that was under construction in Bangkok.

The 7.7-magnitude tremor struck north-west of the city of Sagaing at a shallow depth, the US Geological Survey said. A 6.4-magnitude aftershock hit the same area minutes later.

The devastation prompted a request for international aid from Myanmar's military junta, which has lost swathes of territory to armed groups, as it declared a state of emergency across the six worst-affected regions.

Junta chief Min Aung Hlaing said at least 144 people had been killed there, with 732 confirmed injured, but he warned the toll was "likely to rise".

At least eight deaths have been confirmed so far in Thailand, with more expected.