Holidaymaker describes ‘chaos’ after Myanmar quake hits Bangkok

A holidaymaker has told of the moment the effects of a devastating earthquake brought chaos to Bangkok.

Hundreds of people are believed to have died in neighbouring Myanmar, the epicentre of the 7.7 magnitude quake.

Angela Jenkins, from Lewis in the Western Isles, was in a shopping centre in the Thai capital when the ground began to shake and shoppers started screaming and shouting.

Mrs Jenkins said: “My husband grabbed my hand and we just ran for the door – it was just chaos. Nobody knew what was going on.”

The couple had signed up to an app to get earthquake warnings, but did not receive an alert.

Mrs Jenkins said she had felt faint moments before the tremor struck the shopping mall and she held on to a shop counter to keep her balance.

“The next thing everyone started screaming and shouting and running. It was really frightening,” she said.

“It felt like the ground was moving. It felt as if I was on a boat and it was swaying.”

Outside, the couple joined others in looking to the skyline to try and make sense of what was happening.

Mrs Jenkins said they had not seen signs of damage, but added: “There is a big skyscraper and its alarms are going off.

“There are still ambulances and fire engines screaming around the streets.”

The couple said they hoped to get back to their hotel, but until then had been trying to find shelter from the “blazing heat”.

It is not yet known how many people have died in Myanmar in south east Asia.

In Thailand, which borders Myanmar to the east, 81 construction workers are missing and a search and rescue operation is under way after an unfinished high-rise building collapsed in Bangkok.

The earthquake measured as 7.7 on the Richter scale at about midday local time (06:00 GMT).

Four smaller shocks ranging between 4.5 and 6.6 in magnitude have been measured since.