New Delhi/Yangon/Bangkok: Six earthquakes - the biggest of 7.7 magnitude - hit central Myanmar at 12.50pm (local time) on Friday, with tremors and aftershocks striking parts of Thailand, China, India, Vietnam, and Bangladesh. The epicentres were northwest of the city of Sagaing at depths of 10 to 30km, the United States Geological Survey said.

Over 150 people were killed in Myanmar, where photos and video from two hard-hit cities showed extensive damage. At least eight died in the Thai capital, where a high-rise under construction collapsed.

The 7.7 magnitude quake, with an epicentre near Mandalay, Myanmar's second largest city, struck at midday and was followed by a strong 6.4 magnitude aftershock. The full extent of death, injury and destruction was not immediately clear — particularly in Myanmar, one of the world's poorest countries. It is embroiled in a civil war and information is tightly controlled.

The head of Myanmar's military government said in a televised speech on Friday evening that at least 144 people were killed, and 730 others were injured. “The death toll and injuries are expected to rise,” Senior Gen Min Aung Hlaing said. Photos from the capital of Naypyidaw showed multiple buildings used to house civil servants destroyed by the quake, and rescue crews pulling victims from the rubble.

Myanmar's government said blood was in high demand in the hardest-hit areas. Images of buckled and cracked roads in Mandalay and damaged highways as well as the collapse of a bridge and dam raised further concerns about how rescuers would even reach some areas in a country already enduring a widespread humanitarian crisis. Near Bangkok's popular Chatuchak market, a 33-story building under construction, with a crane on top, crumpled into a cloud of dust, and onlookers could be seen screaming and running in a video posted on social media.

The sound of sirens echoed throughout central Bangkok and vehicles filled the streets, leaving some of the city's already congested streets grid-locked. The elevated rapid transit system and subway shut down. While the area where the quake struck is prone to earthquakes, they are usually not so big and it is rare for them to be felt in the Thai capital, which sits on a river delta and is at moderate risk for quakes.

April Kanichawanakul, who works in an office building in Bangkok, initially didn't even realise it was an earthquake, the first she'd ever experienced. “I just thought I was dizzy,” she said. She and her colleagues ran downstairs from the 10th floor of their building and waited outside for a signal that it was safe to go back in.

Crane-topped building collapsed in a cloud of dust In Bangkok, at least three people were killed in the building collapse and 90 were missing, according to Defence Minister Phumtham Wechayachai. He offered no more details about the ongoing rescue efforts but first responders said that seven people had been rescued so far from the area.

At least two of the dead were construction workers who were killed by falling rubble or debris, rescue worker Songwut Wangpon told reporters. The building was being built by the China Railway Construction Corporation for Thailand's government auditor general. Elsewhere, people in Bangkok evacuated from their buildings were cautioned to stay outside in case there were more aftershocks.

The US Geological Survey and Germany's GFZ centre for geosciences said the earthquake was a shallow 10 kilometres, according to preliminary reports. Shallower earthquakes tend to cause more damage. Screaming and panic as buildings swayed Bangkok's city hall declared the city a disaster area to facilitate the response.

The greater metropolitan area is home to more than 17 million people, many of whom live in high-rise apartments. “All of a sudden the whole building began to move. Immediately there was screaming and a lot of panic,” said Fraser Morton, a tourist from Scotland, who was in one of Bangkok's many malls. “I just started walking calmly at first but then the building started really moving, yeah, a lot of screaming, a lot of panic, people running the wrong way down the escalators.”

Residents in Yangon rushed out of their homes when the quake struck. In the capital Naypyitaw, the quake damaged some homes and religious shrines, sending parts toppling to the ground. The earthquake was felt in Yunnan and Sichuan provinces in China and caused damage to houses and injuries in the city of Ruili on the border with Myanmar, according to Chinese media reports. The shaking in Mangshi, a Chinese city about 100 kilometres northeast of Ruili, was so strong that people couldn't stand, one resident told The Paper, an online media outlet.