Deadly earthquake hit Southeast Asian country of Myanmar killing over 144 people…military junta Begs for international assistance

A 7.7-magnitude earthquake hit the heart of war-ravaged Myanmar of Friday, killing scores of people and prompting the country’s military junta to make a rare plea for international assistance.

The earthquake cut through a vast and varied corner of Southeast Asia, sending terrifying tremors through rural villages caught in the middle of Myanmar’s civil war all the way to the glitzy high-rises of the traffic-filled Thai capital Bangkok. Shaking was even felt across the border in China’s southwestern remote and mountainous Yunnan province.

At least 144 people have been killed and more than 730 others were injured, the head of Myanmar’s military government said late Friday evening. Deaths have also been reported in Thailand.

Having largely shut the country off from the world during its four years of civil war, Min Aung Hlaing – the leader of Myanmar’s military government – declared a state of emergency and issued an “open invitation to any organizations and nations willing to come and help the people in need within our country,” adding the toll was likely to rise.

With electricity and internet down in parts of Myanmar, Hlaing’s unexpected call for help is a measure of the devastation the quake has wrought in the country his junta has helped turn into a pariah state.

Rescue efforts are likely to vary hugely between the two countries. Myanmar, one of Asia’s poorest nations, has a long and troubled track record of struggling to respond to major natural disasters. In contrast, neighboring Thailand is far more prosperous and a major tourist destination, with well-resourced and experienced rescue teams.

The quake was felt hundreds of miles away from the epicenter near the city of Mandalay in northern Myanmar. Erik Honan, a US citizen visiting a friend in the southern Thai city of Pattaya, said when he saw items begin to slide on a coffee table early Friday, he “knew immediately what it was.”

“Mother Nature was having its way – like swatting a fly,” Honan told CNN.

Video posted online showed panicked residents across Myanmar and Thailand running from swaying residential towers as dust fills the air, and traffic comes to a sudden stop on busy city streets.

Thailand’s prime minister also declared an “emergency zone” in Bangkok after the quake triggered the collapse of an under-construction high-rise building near the city’s Chatuchak Park. The collapse killed at least eight people, according to Deputy Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul, and rescuers are working to free at least 110 people still trapped under the rubble.

Sunan Kenkiat, a 31-year-old construction worker at the site, described his narrow escape from the building before it pancaked.

“It was shaking and I felt dizzy,” Kenkiat told CNN. “After that, debris like cement pieces started falling down, and the shaking got stronger, so I shouted for everyone to run.”

This screengrab taken from a video shows a building collapse in Bangkok, Thailand, on March 28, 2025, following an earthquake centered in neighboring Myanmar. A portion of the image has been blurred by CNN.
This screengrab taken from a video shows a building collapse in Bangkok, Thailand, on March 28, 2025, following an earthquake centered in neighboring Myanmar. A portion of the image has been blurred by CNN. Obtained from Social Media
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Myanmar is already reeling from four years of civil war sparked by a bloody and economically destructive military coup, which has seen junta forces battle rebel groups across the country. The coup and ensuing conflict has battered its health infrastructure, leaving it ill-equipped to deal with major natural disasters.

Swathes of the country lie outside the control of the junta and are a run by a patchwork of ethnic rebels and militias, making compiling reliable information extremely difficult.

The full extent of the damage is still emerging. Amnesty International has urged the ruling junta to allow aid groups to enter freely, saying the quake “could not come at a worse time” for the war-ravaged country.