Hundreds feared dead after powerful quake rocks Myanmar and Thailand

Myanmar's junta asks for international aid, while Bangkok declares emergency

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BANGKOK - A powerful earthquake rocked Myanmar and neighboring Thailand and Vietnam on March 28, killing over 153 people, toppling buildings and key bridges, and rupturing roads.

At least 144 people were killed and more than 700 injured in Myanmar, the state-run MRTV said on the Telegram messaging app.

"I have requested international support for relief efforts and have allowed some offers for support from AHA Centre (Asean disaster response organisation) and India," the junta chief, Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, said in a speech broadcasted by MRTV.

The 7.7-magnitude tremor hit north-west of the city of Sagaing at a shallow depth around lunchtime, the United States Geological Survey (USGS) said. A 6.4-magnitude aftershock hit the same area minutes later.

"We want the international community to give humanitarian aid as soon as possible," junta spokesman Zaw Min Tun said at the hospital.

He said state-run hospitals in Naypyitaw, Mandalay and Sagaing were all packed with patients.

Earlier in the day, at least 20 people were confirmed dead at a 1,000-bed hospital in Naypyitaw.

The rare plea from the junta raises the prospect that damage and casualties may be on a large scale, with Myanmar's medical system and infrastructure ravaged by four years of civil war.

A US government predictive analysis based on the strength and depth of the earthquake estimated there could be between 10,000 and 100,000 deaths and severe economic loss, with the Sagaing and Meiktila regions worst-hit.

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

"High casualties and extensive damage are probable, and the disaster is likely widespread," it said.

In Mandalay, Myanmar's second-largest city, bleeding victims were rushed to hospital by ambulance, car and motorbike.