'The city was at a standstill': Panic in Bangkok as tremors from Myanmar quake spark evacuations

SINGAPORE: Singaporean Pang Xue Qiang was in a taxi to Bangkok's Thonglor district when he felt the ground shaking at about 1.30pm on Friday (Mar 28).

“I steeled myself to see if I was hallucinating," said the 33-year-old, who saw people running onto the streets.

A powerful earthquake had hit central Myanmar, sending tremors rippling in the Thai capital. 

Not wanting to be trapped, Mr Pang abandoned the taxi and saw buildings shaking. 

“Everyone abandoned everything, the shops were all vacated and we were all frantically waiting for news or updates on our phones, out in the open spaces,” he told CNA.

“The city was at a standstill, and it was something I never thought I would witness in Bangkok.”

The powerful tremors brought down an under-construction skyscraper in Bangkok, trapping dozens of workers. There was damage to many high-rise buildings, and the city's rapid transit system was suspended.

In Myanmar, where the epicentre was about 17.2km from the city of Mandalay, buildings fell onto their sides, roads cracked open, and the well-known Ava bridge collapsed.

Myanmar's ruling military has declared a state of emergency in multiple regions and appealed for international aid.

Thailand's capital, meanwhile, has been declared a disaster area, with the Bangkok governor placed in charge of coordinating the disaster response.

Mrs Cindy Casey Henwood and her husband, who are in Thailand on a business trip, just started their lunch at the shopping mall EmSphere when the shaking began. 

“It was pretty bad. The ground, table, lights, everything was wobbling,” she said, before adding that she would not consider it a massive shaking.

The couple decided to evacuate, and by the time they reached the exit, people were shouting and screaming.

When they returned to their hotel, they were told to leave the building due to possible aftershocks.

An alarm sounded from her hotel, and everyone was waiting outside, clueless, she told CNA.

Mr Alan Phuang, who arrived in Bangkok with friends on Friday, was also told to evacuate from his hotel and described the process as "orderly". 

"While this is the first time I'm experiencing an earthquake, I feel calm (about) the situation," he said. 

Tremors from the earthquake were also felt in Chiang Mai, said Ms Cecil Ng, who had been in a shopping mall when she felt the ground shake. 

Staff began to run out of their shops and the escalators stopped, she said. 

Thai Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra said she had interrupted an official visit to the southern island of Phuket to hold an "urgent meeting" after the quake, according to a post on X.

China's Xinhua news agency said strong tremors were felt in southwestern Yunnan province which borders Myanmar, but there were no reports of casualties.