Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra instructed Defence Minister Phumtham Wechayachai to consider mobilising military forces for earthquake relief in Myanmar, Deputy Defence Minister Gen Nattapol Nakpanich said on Saturday.

   A search and rescue team, along with medical personnel and supplies, comprising 49 members from the Thai armed forces, will be sent aboard a C-130 aircraft of the Thai air force on Sunday.

   The initial assistance will focus on immediate needs and assessing the Myanmar government’s requirements for further support. The Thai administration is reviewing requests for help from Myanmar to determine further actions, Gen Nattapol added.

   So far, over 1,000 people have been confirmed dead in Myanmar cities due to the earthquake. The tremors were strong enough to impact many areas in Thailand, even toppling a high-rise building in Bangkok.

   Meanwhile, Their Majesties the King and Queen have accepted patients injured in Thailand due to the earthquake under royal patronage.

   A decree was shared on Prime Minister Paetongtarn’s Facebook page, stating that those impacted by the disaster would receive royally sponsored care.

   The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) recognises the urgent need for humanitarian assistance for Myanmar following the quake and is ready to support recovery efforts, its foreign ministers said on Saturday.

   «Asean affirms its solidarity and will work closely to coordinate humanitarian assistance, support and facilitate relief operations, and ensure timely and effective humanitarian response,» the foreign ministers of the Southeast Asian bloc said in a joint statement.

   Myanmar’s junta has issued a rare appeal for international aid, and disaster response teams from Russia, China, Singapore and India flying in on Saturday.

   But rights activists raised fears that aid would not reach people on the ground, as the regime has a history of blocking relief to parts of the country controlled by opposition groups.

   Thomas Andrews, the United Nations special rapporteur on human rights in Myanmar, said in a post on X that the military’s response to a recent cyclone and typhoon showed its «willingness to weaponize aid in the midst of natural disasters».

   A powerful earthquake which struck Myanmar on Friday afternoon resulted in 10 deaths, 16 injuries and 101 missing at three construction sites in Bangkok, including the collapse of a 30-storey government building, according to Bangkok Deputy Governor Tavida Kamolvej.

   The death toll in the capital included eight victims from the high-rise building collapse in Chatuchak district, along with one worker who died when a crane at another construction site fell, and one worker who perished due to a ceiling collapse at a site in Bang Chan.

   The 7.7-magnitude quake, occurring at a depth of 10 kilometres at 1.20pm in Mandalay, Myanmar, was felt across Thailand, China and Vietnam.

   In Thailand, the quake had caused damage in Bangkok and 10 other provinces, including Samut Sakhon, Chiang Mai, Chiang Rai, Phrae, Mae Hong Son, Lampang, Chai Nat, Lamphun, Loei and Kamphaeng Phet, said Pasakorn Boonyalak, director-general of the Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation.

   The Meteorological Department reported on Saturday that two additional earthquakes were detected in the northern province of Mae Hong Son.

   The first, measuring 4.1 on the Richter scale at a depth of five kilometres, occurred in Pai district at 11.21pm, followed by a magnitude 2.0 quake at 3.24am, also in Pai. There were no immediate reports of damage.

   Aftershocks from the 7.7-magnitude earthquake which hit Myanmar on Friday will continue in Thailand for one to two weeks, according to a seismologist.

   Although the aftershocks are expected to be less intense than the initial tremor, people are advised to exercise caution, said Prof Pennung Warnitchai, director of the National Earthquake Research Centre of Thailand.

   He also stressed on the need for structural assessments of tall buildings in the wake of the powerful earthquake. «It’s important to make sure that these structures are safe for occupancy and free from damage,» Pennung. «If any damage is detected, those buildings must not be used.»

   The seismologist said that the recent earthquake originated along the Sagaing Fault in Myanmar, which lies between the Indian and Sunda plates. The quake fell within the safety standards for tall buildings designed to withstand seismic activity, he added.

   «While risk remains, scientific data suggests that aftershocks will diminish over time.»

The Bangkok Post is an English-language Thai newspaper. It is published in Bangkok. It was first published in 1946. It is Thailand’s oldest newspaper that is still published.