By DPA,
Yangon/Bangkok : A magnitude-6.8 earthquake killed at least 27 people in northeast Myanmar and one in Thailand, officials said Friday.
At least 27 people died and 50 were injured in Tali, the village nearest the epicentre in northeastern Myanmar, officials said.
“We got information that the worst area was Tali town in eastern Shan state,” said a provincial official who requested anonymity.
“The casualties will be higher when we can update them,” the official said in a telephone interview.
Tali is just 24 km from the Thai-Myanmar border town of Tachilek, 680 km north of Bangkok. At least two villages in Tachilek sustained serious damage in the quake, according to World Vision, a disaster relief organisation.
There were no reports on casualties in Yangon and Naypyitaw.
The earthquake struck at 8.25 p.m. (1355 GMT) Thursday, with its epicentre in northeast Myanmar, 589 km northeast of Yangon, Myanmar’s old capital, and 772 km north of Bangkok, according to the US Geological Survey.
In Chiang Rai, Thailand, Hong Khamping, 55, died when a concrete wall in her home collapsed on top of her. The wall was poorly constructed, Thai officials said.
“There were no other deaths or injuries in northern Thailand,” said Chiatha Mositrat, head of the Chiang Rai Disaster Prevention Office.
Tourists in Chiang Rai, including members of the Syrian triathlon team, evacuated their hotel rooms for several hours.