A 6.8-magnitude earthquake has hit the Thai-Burma border region, killing at least one person and shaking buildings as far away as Bangkok.
The quake hit on Thursday evening (local time) and was only 10 kilometres deep. Its epicentre was in a sparsely populated area on the Burmese side of the border.
People fled their homes in panic and tremors were felt in Bangkok, central Burma and as far away as the Vietnamese capital, Hanoi, leading to the evacuation of several tall buildings and offices.
There is no information about damage in Burma, but the quake was only 90 kilometres from the northern Thai city of Chiang Rai and police say a woman was killed when a wall of her house collapsed.
Hospital officials say there are no other deaths or injuries reported in the province.
Witnesses in north-east Burma and northern Thailand said they felt the earthquake strongly and tremors caused widespread panic. Ten aftershocks further jolted the area.
“In 40 years I never felt an earthquake this strong. A glass broke, I had to hold on to a pillar,” Thanawan Sisukniyom, a retired teacher in Mae Sai, said.
About half of the major northern centre of Chiang Mai also lost electricity, while Bangkok residents reported high rises swaying and some people evacuated.
Tremors were felt even on the major inner-city tourist thoroughfare of Sukhumvit.
Hospital staff in the Burmese town of Kengtung, about 55 kilometres north of the epicentre, said no casualties had been reported. Witnesses said damage appeared limited but the earthquake sparked fear among residents.
“Many people fled their homes and lay down on the ground outside, away from the buildings,” a resident of Kengtung said.
“We are still sitting on the ground since there are several aftershocks. In some buildings, TV sets fell off the tables and shrine altars fell down.”
People also left their homes in Burma’s capital, Naypyitaw, and its biggest city, Rangoon, about 550km away.
Earthquakes of magnitudes of around 5 and as high as 7 have hit northern Burma and Thailand several times in the past 15 years, but damage and casualties have been limited and the areas are thinly populated.
