43 people trapped in collapsed building in Bangkok earthquake

A 30-storey skyscraper under construction for government offices collapsed in Bangkok on Friday, trapping 43 workers, police and medics said, after the city was rocked by a strong earthquake.

The building in the north of the Thai capital was reduced to a tangle of rubble and twisted metal in seconds after the 7.7-magnitude quake, which had its epicentre in Myanmar, reports AFP.

A video circulating on social media showed people pouring out of buildings in the Thai capital, Bangkok, and gathering on the streets.

Myanmar is relatively more prone to earthquakes than Thailand. Between 1930 and 1956, the country was hit by six magnitude 7 earthquakes, all of which were near the Sagaing Fault, a rift beneath the earth's surface that runs through the middle of the country.