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LAST UPDATE | 28 Mar
RESCUE WORKERS HAVE said that there may be “hundreds dead” after a powerful 7.7-magnitude earthquake hit central Myanmar this morning, which damaged buildings, roads and bridges and forced evacuations across south-east Asia.
Junta chief Min Aung Hlaing said 144 people had been killed, with 732 confirmed injured, but warned the toll was “likely to rise”.
In a statement on television, Myanmar’s army general called for international support, inviting “any country, any organisation” to help with relief.
At least three people died when a mosque partially collapsed in the town of Taungoo in Myanmar this morning, according to witnesses.
In Thailand, eight people were confirmed dead and the death toll is also expected to rise. Some of those who died were killed when a skyscraper under construction collapsed with dozens of workers in the building.
Myanmar officials have warned that a hospital in the capital city of Naypyidaw as become a “mass casualty area” following the tremors.
Speaking this evening, Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs Simon Harris said that he was not aware of any Irish citizens currently impacted by the disaster, but said that the Irish embassy in Thailand is available to provide assistance to anyone in need.
“The thoughts of people right across the country are with the people of Myanmar and Thailand, after the very significant earthquake today,” Harris said. “The Irish government stand ready to assist in any way that we can, and of course, we’re looking to fully assess the impact of that earthquake with the UN and other international partners, but right now our hearts go out to the people of that region.”
A number of people have died at the hospital since large numbers of patients began to arrive, according to a doctor at the site.
“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.
Rows of wounded were treated outside the emergency department of the hospital, which itself was hit by the tremors which buckled roads and ripped tarmac apart.
The tremor hit northwest of the city of Sagaing this afternoon at a shallow depth. A 6.4-magnitude aftershock hit the same area minutes later.
A powerful earthquake rocked central Myanmar on Friday, buckling roads in the capital Naypyidaw, damaging buildings and forcing people to flee into the streets in neighbouring Thailandhttps://t.co/cte2o2ehjC pic.twitter.com/dJCl6QTY3G
— AFP News Agency (@AFP) March 28, 2025
Myanmar’s ruling junta made a rare request for international humanitarian aid and declared a state of emergency across six regions after a powerful quake hit the country on Friday.
State-run MRTV television said the military-run government’s proclamation includes the capital Naypyitaw and Mandalay.
A member of a rescue team based in Mandalay told the BBC that the exact number of casualties is not yet known, “but it is at least in the hundreds”.
The earthquake also majorly impacted the city of Bangkok, where authorities have declared a state of emergency.
Damage was reported to buildings across the city after the quake, including a 30-storey under-construction skyscraper that collapsed in the city’s north.
An estimated 90 people were inside the building near Chatuchak Park, located hundreds of miles away from the earthquake’s epicentre in Myanmar.
Deputy Prime Minister Phumtham Wechayachai said three people have been confirmed dead, and an unknown number of others are still under the rubble of the building.
Rescue worker Songwut Wangpon told reporters another seven people had been found alive at the site.
A dramatic video circulated on social media showed the multi-story building with a crane on top collapsing into a cloud of dust, while onlookers screamed and ran.
⚠️ A building in Bangkok has collapsed after a 7.7 magnitude earthquake struck central Myanmar.
— The Telegraph (@Telegraph) March 28, 2025
Read the latest here ⬇️https://t.co/W55FaSt9pv pic.twitter.com/PTa8WyQ6Dq
The Thai government is currently holding an emergency meeting to assess the damage and response needed.
After a four-year long civil war, a severe food crisis and an economy on the decline, Myanmar now finds itself devastated by the powerful earthquake.
A number of world leaders have offered assistance, with Tánaiste Simon Harris describing the scenes of destruction as “very worrying”.
Very worrying scenes from Myanmar following the serious earthquake earlier today.
— Simon Harris TD (@SimonHarrisTD) March 28, 2025
My thoughts are with everyone affected in both Myanmar and Thailand.
Irish citizens in need of consular assistance should follow this guidance from our Embassy. https://t.co/6UoR7xzv7w
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said that the EU stood ready to help, and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi offered “all possible assistance” to Myanmar and Thailand.
In the US, President Donald Trump said that America “will be helping” the devastated country.
Ilan Kelman, Professor of Disasters and Health at University College London, said that getting humanitarian relief into the worst-affected areas of Myanmar “might not be politically easy”.
According to Kelman, Myanmar governments have been historically reluctant to receive emergency aid.
“In 2008, Cyclone Nargis killed over 80,000 people in the country. The government took days to accept significant aid and then inhibited its delivery,” Kelman said.
“Helping people in need without helping an oppressive government is a tricky situation for aid donors to navigate, not helped by the reported damage to transportation and communication systems,” he added.
The Irish Red Cross said that there is “no time to wait” to deliver urgent humanitarian aid to Myanmar in the wake of the disaster.It said that the National Society of the Red Cross is coordinating an emergency response on the ground in Myanmar.
The Secretary General of the Irish organisation, Deride Garvey, said that people in Myanmar were already experiencing a severe humanitarian crisis, and “this disaster further compounds the existing vulnerabilities and increases the urgency for aid”.
Additional reporting from AFP
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