The residents of Thailand and Myanmar describe the horror after the earthquake

People in Myanmar and Thailand talk about their shock and horror, after a powerful earthquake of 7.7 magnitudes struck on Friday, removing buildings in both sides.

A resident of Yangon, the largest city of Myanmar, told the BBC that shakes were “quite intense” and lasted about four minutes.

Speaking to the BBC World Service Newsday program, the man who wished to remain anonymous for security reasons describes waking from a nap to the building trembling violently.

“It lasted about three to four minutes,” he told the BBC: “I received messages from friends and realized that it was not only in Yangon, but also many places throughout the country.”

The tremors felt in Thailand and China made a 30-storey skyscraper collapse in the Thai capital Bangkok, grabbing 43 workers under the ruins.

The residents ran through the streets as the buildings shook and water scattered from swimming pools on the roof.

Syrina Nakuta told Reuters that she was in her apartment with her children when the earthquake struck: “It didn’t stop. I heard things fall from above, like stones that hit us. I told my children that we couldn’t stay here and we had to get out of here. So we were running.”

Worapat Sukthai, Bang Sue County Deputy Police, told the French News Agency AFP that he could hear the sound of people screaming under the collapse of the tower of the tower.

He said, “When I arrived on the site, I heard people call for help saying” Help me. “We think hundreds were injured, but we still determine the number of victims.”

As the scale of destruction appeared, Myanmar’s employees announced a “mass zone for victims” at the Nay Pyi Taw General Hospital, where patients were lying outside, intravenous drops hanging from improvised stands.

The military junta, which ruled Myanmar after his coup in 2021, made a rare appeal for international assistance by declaring a state of emergency in six regions.

The head of Junta Min Aung Hlaing was seen visiting the Nay Pyi Taw Hospital. He pleads for foreign assistance: “We want the international community to send humanitarian aid as soon as possible.”

Access to information in the military side is difficult. The use of the Internet is also limited. Communication lines also seem to be declining as the BBC is unable to pass to help agencies on the spot.

In Bangkok, where the subway and rail services were stopped, Zsuzsanna Vari-Kovacs describes the evacuation of a restaurant. She said, “I waited for the bill and suddenly I started to feel the land shake. At the beginning I decided it was only me, but then I saw everyone looked. We ran out immediately.”

Deborah Punmachet checked her phone when her chair suddenly stopped. She said, “I was in my La-Z-Boy (lying down) and suddenly moved back and forth. Then she turned over and I hit my head at a table.”

Buy Tu, a BBC journalist who lives in Bangkok, said it had been a decade since the country had experienced a powerful earthquake like her.

In Mandalay, Myanmar’s second largest city, social media images showed demolished buildings, including parts of the historic Royal Palace. A 90-year-old bridge fell apart as sections of the main highway connecting Yangon to the city were torn.

The geological survey of the United States issued a “red signal”, warning that “high victims and major damage is likely.” The death number remains unknown, but the USGS estimates that it can be in thousands.