The Latest: Major earthquakes strike Myanmar and Thailand

BANGKOK, Thailand (AP) — A 7.7 magnitude earthquake and an aftershock measuring 6.4 rocked Myanmar and neighboring Thailand on Friday, destroying buildings, a bridge and a dam.

At least 144 people were killed in Myanmar, the head of the military government said in the televised speech.

“The death toll and injuries are expected to rise,” Senior Gen. Min Aung Hlaing said, adding that more than 700 people had been injured.

At least six died in the Thai capital, where a high-rise under construction collapsed. Damage was also reported in China.

The quake struck in the early afternoon, sending people streaming out of buildings and seeking shelter anywhere they could find it from the blazing sun.

Myanmar's military-run government has declared a state of emergency in six regions.

Here is the latest:

Malaysia will deploy a 50-member humanitarian assistance and disaster relief team to Yangon, Myanmar on Sunday, led by a contingent commander and 49 rescue personnel. This replaces the previously planned staggered deployment.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Embassy of Malaysia in Yangon are facilitating the arrangements and will support operations on the ground.

Malaysia’s government said it will deploy disaster relief teams to Yangon ifollowing massive quakes in that country, Thailand and parts of southern China that killed more than 150 people and trapped scores under rubble.

China, Russia and India dispatched rescuers to Myanmar, which was rocked by a powerful earthquake that caused extensive damage.

A 37-member team from China’s Yunnan province reached the city of Yangon early Saturday, the official Xinhua news agency reported. The team carried emergency relief supplies such as life detectors, earthquake early warning systems and drones, Xinhua said, and the team is expected to provide assistance in disaster relief and medical treatment efforts.

Russia’s emergencies ministry dispatched two planes carrying 120 rescuers and supplies, according to a report from Russia state news agency Tass.

“Based on orders from the Russian president and emergencies minister, a group of Russian rescuers has departed to Myanmar on two planes from Zhukovsky Airport outside Moscow to help address the aftermath of a powerful earthquake,” Tass reported that a ministry spokesperson said.

India dispatched a search and rescue team and a medical team as well as blankets, tarpaulin, hygiene kits, sleeping bags, solar lamps, food packets and kitchen sets, the country’s foreign minister posted on X.

Most of Bangkok metro and light rail had resumed operation normally on Saturday morning, according to their operators, although two light rail lines remained closed pending further inspection.

Friday's powerful earthquake shook Myanmar, causing extensive damage and prompting officials to warn that the initial death toll — above 140 — was likely to grow. In neighboring Thailand, at least six died in Bangkok, where a high-rise under construction collapsed.

Bangkok city authorities have revised the number of people killed in Friday's earthquake down to six, along with 22 people injured and 101 missing.

The previous death toll late Friday was 10. Authorities said they lowered the toll because first responders had mistaken some critical cases at the scene as being dead, but when they reached the hospital they could be resuscitated.

The powerful earthquake also rocked neighboring Myanmar, causing extensive damage across a wide swath of one of the world’s poorest countries and prompting officials to warn that the initial death toll — above 140 — was likely to grow in the days ahead.

China's foreign ministry says the country stands ready to do its best to provide emergency humanitarian assistance and support to the earthquake-affected area in Myanmar.

The statement says China wants to help "help people there carry out disaster relief and rescue and pull through this trying time.”

The ministry spokesperson also extended “our sincere sympathies” to Myanmar and said the peoples of China and Myanmar enjoy a profound “pauk-phaw” friendship, referring to the particularly close ties between the two nations.

After Cyclone Mocha in 2023, Radio Free Asia’s Burmese Service beamed more than 70 stories in 10 days to its audience via shortwave radio, satellite TV and social media. But the U.S.-backed broadcaster has been noticeably absent from earthquake coverage in the region after President Trump gutted its parent company, the U.S. Agency for Global Media.

Radio Free Asia, which receives funds from the agency, has been forced to furlough most of its staff and sever contracts with stringers, including some in Myanmar, hindering its efforts to gather news on the ground, said Rohit Mahajan, spokesman for RFA.

As USAGM ends contracts for shortwave radio transmitters, RFA has lost three hours of transmission time to beam programs to audiences in Myanmar, according to Mahajan.

The United Nations’ emergency relief coordinator made an initial allocation of $5 million for recovery efforts in the area as the international body works to recover from massive U.S. funding cuts to the region even before the 7.7 magnitude quake hit.

Stéphane Dujarric, the U.N. spokesperson, told reporters that the allocation was made as international and local U.N. staff are working to gather information on the number of people impacted, damage to infrastructure and the scope of the humanitarian needs.

“The earthquake will compound an already dire humanitarian situation in Myanmar, where nearly 20 million people need assistance across the country, including more than 3.5 million people displaced from their homes,” Dujarric said at a briefing Friday.

“The impact of the earthquake in Myanmar is likely to be severe, with possibly thousands of displaced people in need of urgent shelter, food and medical aid,” said Mohammed Riyas, regional director of the International Rescue Committee.

“We fear it may be weeks before we understand the full extent of destruction caused by this earthquake, as communication network lines are down and transport is disrupted,” he said. “The damage to infrastructure and homes, loss of life, and injuries sustained by communities affected should not be underestimated.”

Riyas said the IRC and its partners are working to understand how communities have been affected with the aim of launching an emergency response. He said in a statement that “search and rescue operations are underway.”

Pope Francis, who is convalescing after a five-week hospitalization for life-threatening double pneumonia, offered prayers to the victims of the earthquake.

“The pope has been informed of the disaster in Myanmar and is praying for the dramatic situation and for the many victims, also in Thailand,’’ the Vatican said in a statement.

The earthquake reportedly brought down multiple buildings in Mandalay, Myanmar’s second-largest city, including the Ma Soe Yane monastery.

A video posted online showed robed monks in the street shooting video of the multistory monastery before it suddenly fell into the ground. It was not immediately clear whether anyone was harmed.

Christian Aid said its partners and colleagues on the ground reported that a dam burst in the city, causing water levels to rise in the lowland areas in the area.

The Red Cross said downed power lines added to challenges for their teams trying to reach several hard-hit areas.

In Mandalay, which was close to the epicenter, the earthquake damaged part of the former royal palace and buildings, according to videos and photos released on Facebook social media.

In the Sagaing region, southwest of Mandalay, a 90-year-old bridge collapsed, and some sections of the highway connecting Mandalay and Myanmar’s largest city, Yangon, were damaged.

In the capital Naypyitaw, the quake damaged religious shrines, sending parts toppling to the ground.

Maj. Gen. Zaw Min Tun, a military government spokesperson, told state television MRTV that blood was in high demand in the hospitals in earthquake-hit areas, especially Mandalay, Sagaing, and Naypyitaw.

He urged blood donors to contact the hospitals as soon as possible.

The Red Cross said downed power lines are adding to challenges for their teams trying to reach Mandalay and Sagaing regions and southern Shan state.

“Initial reports from the ground suggest the earthquake has caused significant damage,” the Red Cross said. “Information on humanitarian needs is still being gathered.”

A state of emergency has been declared in six regions and states in Myanmar by the military-run government.

State-run MRTV television said the government’s proclamation includes the capital Naypyitaw and Mandalay, after the earthquake and a strong aftershock, whose epicenter was near the country’s second largest city.

Myanmar is in the midst of a civil war and many areas are not easily accessible and it was not immediately clear what relief efforts the military would be able to provide.

Thai emergency responders said at least two people have been found dead and an unknown number of others are still under the rubble of a collapsed building in Bangkok.

Rescue worker Songwut Wangpon, speaking at the scene of a tall pile of rubble that was once a high-rise building under construction, told reporters another seven people had been found alive.

Thailand’s Defense Minister Phumtham Wechayachai later said three people had been confirmed dead with 90 others missing following the building collapse.

The collapse of the multi-story structure sent a crane on top of it toppling to the ground and created a massive plume of dust.

People in the Silom business district of Bangkok evacuated office buildings and condominium towers along Rama IV Road and streamed into nearby Lumphini Park. The sidewalks filled with work crews with neon green shirts, along with other workers in hard hats and blue and green uniform shirts.

Along the walkways of the park and the sidewalks of Silom and nearby Sathon, people in business attire and company uniforms huddled or stood in packs talking and checking their phones. Some moving through the crowds were crying or visibly distraught.

Paul Vincent, a tourist visiting from England, was at a streetside bar when the quake struck.

“The next thing, everybody came on the street, so there was a lot of screaming and panicking, which obviously made it a lot worse,” he said.

As he came onto the street himself, he said he saw a high-rise building swaying and water was falling from a rooftop pool.

“When I saw the building, oh my God, that’s when ... it hit me,” he said. “There were people crying in the streets and, you know, the panic was horrendous really.”

The earthquake was felt in Yunnan and Sichuan provinces in China and caused injuries and damage to houses in the city of Ruili on the border with northern Myanmar, according to Chinese media reports.

Videos that one outlet said it had received from a person in Ruili showed building debris littering a street and a person being wheeled on a stretcher toward an ambulance.

The shaking in Mangshi, a Chinese city about 100 kilometers (60 miles) northeast of Ruili, was so strong that people couldn’t stand, one resident told The Paper, an online media outlet.

A relative of a worker at a high-rise building under construction that collapsed after a strong earthquake weeps as rescuers search for victims, in Bangkok, Thailand, Saturday, March 29, 2025. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit)

In this image provided by The Myanmar Military True News Information Team, Myanmar's military leader Senior Gen. Min Aung Hlaing, center, inspects victims caused by an earthquake Friday, March 28, 2025, in Naypyitaw, Myanmar. (The Myanmar Military True News Information Team via AP)

Relatives of workers at a high-rise building under construction that collapsed after a strong earthquake wait as rescuers search for victims, in Bangkok, Thailand, Saturday, March 29, 2025. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit)

In this image provided by The Myanmar Military True News Information Team, Damaged buildings caused by an earthquake is seen Friday, March 28, 2025, in Naypyitaw, Myanmar. (The Myanmar Military True News Information Team via AP)

In this image provided by The Myanmar Military True News Information Team, victims caused by an earthquake is seen compound of government hospital Friday, March 28, 2025, in Naypyitaw, Myanmar. (The Myanmar Military True News Information Team via AP)

Vehicles make their way near a road damaged by an earthquake Friday, March 28, 2025, in Naypyitaw, Myanmar. (AP Photo/Aung Shine Oo)

A building is damaged after earthquake Friday, March 28, 2025, in Naypyitaw, Myanmar. (AP Photo/Aung Shine Oo)

Vehicles make their way near a road damaged by an earthquake Friday, March 28, 2025, in Naypyitaw, Myanmar. (AP Photo/Aung Shine Oo)

A building is damaged after earthquake Friday, March 28, 2025, in Naypyitaw, Myanmar. (AP Photo/Aung Shine Oo)

Rescue workers take an injured man who was trapped under a building Friday, March 28, 2025, in Naypyitaw, Myanmar. (AP Photo/Aung Shine Oo)

Rescue workers take an injured man who was trapped under a building Friday, March 28, 2025, in Naypyitaw, Myanmar. (AP Photo/Aung Shine Oo)

People take shelter outdoors after an earthquake shook nearby high-rises in Bangkok, Thailand, Friday, March 28, 2025. (AP Photo/David Cohen)

Rescuers work at the site a high-rise building under construction that collapsed after a 7.7 magnitude earthquake in Bangkok, Thailand, Friday, March 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Wason Wanichakorn)

Hospital patients lay on beds outdoors after a 7.7 magnitude earthquake in Bangkok, Thailand, Friday, March 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit)

Rescuers work at the site of a high-rise building under construction that collapsed after a 7.7 magnitude earthquake in Bangkok, Thailand, Friday, March 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit)

Rescuers work at the site of a high-rise building under construction that collapsed after a 7.7 magnitude earthquake in Bangkok, Thailand, Friday, March 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit)

People who evacuated from buildings following earthquake in Bangkok, Thailand, Friday, March 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Chutima Lalit)

A Buddhist monk walks near a damaged building at a monastery compound after an earthquake, Friday, March 28, 2025 in Naypyitaw, Myanmar. (AP Photo/Aung Shine Oo)

A damaged monastery is seen after an earthquake, Friday, March 28, 2025 in Naypyitaw, Myanmar. (AP Photo/Aung Shine Oo)

People seek shelter in Bangkok's Benjasiri Park after an earthquake shook nearby high-rises on Friday, March 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Adam Schreck)

Rescuers work at the site of a high-rise building under construction that collapsed after a 7.7 magnitude earthquake in Bangkok, Thailand, Friday, March 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit)

Rescuers work at the site of a high-rise building under construction that collapsed after a 7.7 magnitude earthquake in Bangkok, Thailand, Friday, March 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit)

People who evacuated from buildings following earthquake in Bangkok, Thailand, Friday, March 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Chutima Lalit)

Damaged pagodas are seen after an earthquake, Friday, March 28, 2025 in Naypyitaw, Myanmar. (AP Photo/Aung Shine Oo)

Rescuers work at the site of a high-rise building under construction that collapsed after a 7.7 magnitude earthquake in Bangkok, Thailand, Friday, March 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit)

Rescuers walk at the site of a high-rise building under construction that collapsed after a 7.7 magnitude earthquake in Bangkok, Thailand, Friday, March 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit)

Rescuers walk at the site of a high-rise building under construction that collapsed after a 7.7 magnitude earthquake in Bangkok, Thailand, Friday, March 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit)

CAIRO (AP) — Iranians began to regain internet access on Wednesday after authorities ended a monthslong shutdown. But users said service was slow and spotty in some areas, with apps like YouTube and Instagram heavily restricted, as they were before the cutoff began during nationwide protests in January.

Authorities justified the outage as a military imperative after the United States and Israel attacked Iran on Feb. 28. Their decision to lift some restrictions this week came as negotiators appeared to be closing in on a more permanent truce. But many Iranians feared access could be cut off again at a moment's notice.

Internet tracking company Netblocks said Iran’s connectivity, which measures the ability of devices to connect to the internet, is at around 86% of capacity from before the cutoff. Internet analysis firm Kentik said internet traffic, which measures the amount of data transferred and is a good illustration of usage, was at around 40%.

Amir Rashidi, an Iranian cybersecurity analyst, said there were still widespread disruptions. “It's too early to say the shutdown is over,” he wrote on X.

Iran’s roughly 90 million people have been cut off from the internet for most of 2026, one of the world’s longest and strictest national shutdowns. Young people with online careers saw their incomes evaporate. Job losses and the closure of online businesses added to the war's steep economic costs.

The cutoff made it difficult for Iranian families to communicate through months of unrest and war. At some points, phone lines were also cut off, though they were later restored.

A woman living in Tehran said that for months she was barely able to speak to her sons living abroad. She couldn't believe authorities had restored access, saying she had assumed they would find some justification to prolong the outage.

A taxi driver said service was restored but weak. He expressed hope it would improve so he could use messaging apps with family and friends. Both spoke on condition of anonymity for security reasons.

Prices spiked during the shutdown, with residents in Tehran at times paying around $7.50 per gigabyte. Prices are back down to around $2.25 for 30 gigabytes, roughly where they were before the protests.

Even then, Iran tightly controlled access to popular social media sites, leading many to rely on virtual private networks, or VPNs. The cost of those workarounds soared during the shutdown, making them unaffordable for many as the economy was battered.

Businesses have started reappearing online, announcing their return with posts on sites like Instagram and Telegram.

A gamer and tech influencer in the central city of Isfahan said the shutdown had caused him to lose a lot of his audience on YouTube and Instagram, where he had spent years building up a large following.

“All my views and interactions are way down. I’ve been erased from the algorithm,” he said in a voice note sent by WhatsApp, adding that his internet connection was still slower than before the shutdown.

“The situation is such that many content producers have had their income reduced to zero, have moved on to other jobs, or have been forced to sell their equipment to survive,” he said. He spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisal.

Iranian authorities first shut down the internet in January during mass anti-government protests that were eventually stamped out in a violent crackdown. Thousands of people were killed and tens of thousands detained.

That cutoff was just starting to ease when the government imposed a complete internet blackout after the start of the war, when U.S. and Israeli strikes killed Iran's supreme leader and other top officials.

The government faced criticism for the prolonged shutdown, which caused even more harm to an economy devastated by inflation, strikes on key industries and a U.S. blockade on Iranian ports.

The internet cutoff cost an estimated $30-40 million daily, with indirect losses likely twice that much, a member of Iran’s Chamber of Commerce, Afshin Kolahi, told a local newspaper last month. About 10 million people have jobs that depend on internet connectivity, according to Communications Minister Sattar Hashemi.

Iranians still had access to a national net, but that has a far narrower reach, and users complained of poor service and heavy censorship. Senior government officials are given SIM cards granting them access to the global internet. Under pressure, the government expanded access to the SIM cards to some professions during the shutdown.

A woman checks her smartphone while sitting on a bench along a sidewalk in northern Tehran, Iran, Tuesday, May 26, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)