Myanmar, Thailand earthquake: 'Skyscrapers shook, people got scared building might collapse,' witnesses recall horror

Myanmar earthquake: As a massive earthquake rocked Myanmar and Thailand on Friday, killing 694 in Myanmar and injuring thousands of others, eyewitnesses are sharing the chilling details of the quake and what it felt like.

A resident of Kolkata, Safdar, spoke to ANI and gave an account of his experience of the earthquake. The eyewitness was in Bangkok when the earthquake happened.

“I was on the road at that time. I saw some skyscrapers shaking. There was water coming out of an infinity pool. People were scared that the building might collapse, but nothing like that happened. Public transport were shut for some hours,” he was quoted as saying by ANI.

Myanmar Thailand earthquake: Eyewitnesses share chilling details

Another eyewitness named Sanjiv Dutta, who was returning from Bangkok to Kolkata, told ANI that the Myanmar Thailand earthquake resulted in huge traffic.

“My bed started shaking when the earthquake took place. After I woke up, I saw that the building was shaking. Later, I saw people running in panic. I came to the ground floor from the seventh floor and waited there for some time. There was huge traffic. It took 5-6 hours to cover 30 kilometres,” he said.

Another passenger from Bangkok Ranjan Banerjee, who reached Kolkata on Saturday, said that while the situation is normal now in the city, the earthquake resulted in an emergency.

“The situation is normal right now, but when it happened, there was an emergency situation. Malls and offices were evacuated. The Metro rail system was shut,” he said.

Massive earthquake jolts Myanmar and Thailand

A powerful earthquake rocked Myanmar on Friday, causing widespread damage across the country and prompting officials to warn that the initial death toll — above 140 — was likely to grow in the days ahead. As per latest updates, the death toll has risen to 694.

The tremors were felt in neighbouring Thailand, where extensive damage was reported as well.

The 7.7 magnitude quake struck at midday, with an epicenter near Mandalay, Myanmar 's second-largest city. Aftershocks followed, one of them measuring a strong 6.4 magnitude.

In Thailand, authorities in Bangkok said six people were killed, 22 were injured and 101 were missing from three construction sites, including those from a collapsed high-rise.

Myanmar is in an active earthquake belt, though many of the temblors happen in sparsely populated areas.