The earthquake's center was located near the million-city Mandalay in Myanmar, and occurred at a depth of ten kilometers just before 1 pm local time on Friday. About twelve minutes after the first tremor, an aftershock with a magnitude of 6.4 occurred, according to the US Geological Survey (USGS).
A few hours later, the first official death tolls were reported: over 140 dead and more than 700 injured in Myanmar. The leader of the military junta, Min Aung Hlaing, said that the death toll "will likely increase significantly".
The heavily affected Myanmar is already severely battered by military dictatorship and several ongoing regional uprisings that have plunged the country into a low-intensity civil war. Large parts of the infrastructure and social safety nets are completely destroyed, making rescue efforts and emergency aid difficult.
Desperate invitation
I invite countries, organizations, or anyone in Myanmar who can come and help. Thank you, said junta leader Min Aung Hlaing in a desperate TV address after visiting a hospital in Naypyidaw.
The military had previously stated that the hospitals in Mandalay, Naypyidaw, and Sagaing were overcrowded with injured people.
Rescue workers told how they searched for survivors, but often had only voices crying for help to search for, as equipment and tools were lacking.
The organization Doctors Without Borders pointed out that communication possibilities in large parts of the affected areas are completely cut off.
Important roads have been damaged, making it difficult to physically reach the area, but also to access information, said Doctors Without Borders' Myanmar chief Federica Franco.
The US Geological Survey (USGS) estimated after the quake that the initial calculations showed a risk of over 55 percent that at least 10,000 people may have died.
I have never seen anything like it. We are trying to handle the situation, but I am so exhausted now, said a doctor to the news agency AFP hours after the quake.
Collapsed in seconds
In neighboring Thailand, around 80 people are missing since a 30-story high-rise building under construction collapsed in Bangkok. But many more construction workers are feared to have been on site at the time of the quake.
At least nine people had been confirmed dead in Thailand late on Friday, according to authorities.
The quake was also felt in, among other places, India and southwestern China.
