The devastating power of the earthquake that rocked Myanmar and Thailand earlier today has been laid bare in a torrent of shocking footage.
Thousands are feared dead after the 7.7 magnitude quake struck near Mandalay, Myanmar’s second-largest city home to more than 1.5 million people.
The shallow tremor struck central Myanmar at 13.20 local time (6.50GMT), and was followed minutes later by a 6.4-magnitude aftershock.
Officials at a major hospital in Naypyidaw, the capital, declared it a ‘mass casualty area’, with the death toll expected to skyrocket after entire buildings collapsed.
One heart-rending clip taken in Mandalay captured the moment several monks watched on as the Ma Soe Yane monastery imploded before them – one of many religious shrines that were reportedly damaged across Myanmar.
A death toll for that specific incident has not yet been established but unconfirmed reports suggested at least ten people were inside the monastery at the time of its collapse.
Mandalay University was also seen ablaze shortly after the earthquake struck.
Meanwhile, in Bangkok, home to 17 million, several of the city’s skyscrapers were seen tumbling to the ground. Some of them appeared to explode suddenly, almost as if detonated from the inside, as their supports were pulverised.
One horrifying video that surveyed the aftermath of the collapse showed how a child was buried in the rubble up to his neck and was screaming for help.
In another astonishing piece of footage, a huge red crane is seen falling from the side of one high-rise in the Thai capital after the tremors caused the metal web to fold in on itself.
Elsewhere, the violent shaking disrupted the open-air swimming pools atop Bangkok’s upmarket skyscrapers, sending huge waves of water cascading down their facades.
Residents, tourists and shoppers were sent stampeding away as structures all around them vibrated, trembled and began to crumble.
In Myanmar, 144 deaths were confirmed as of 14:30GMT, while Thai authorities are yet to provide an initial casualty assessment.
But hundreds of people are missing, expected dead, with casualty figures set to rise dramatically.