One dead as quake strikes Burma

A LARGE 6.8 magnitude earthquake struck Burma near the border with northern Thailand yesterday, killing one woman.

Police said a 53-year-old woman in Mae Sai, in the Thai province of Chiang Rai, had been killed when one wall of her house collapsed.

Hospital officials said there were no other deaths or injuries reported.

The quake was centred 111km north of the town of Chiang Rai, Thailand’s northernmost province.

“In my 40 years, I never felt an earthquake this strong. A glass broke and I had to hold onto a pillar,” said Thanawan Sisukniyom, a retired teacher in Mai Sai.

Witnesses in Chiang Mai, the country’s second-largest city, reported no immediate damage, but said the earthquake was felt strongly.

A witness in Tachilek, which borders Chiang Rai, said parked motorbikes fell to the ground and cracks were seen in the road. Electricity was reportedly cut off in parts of Mae Sai.

Chiang Rai province is a sparsely populated, hilly area that forms part of the famous Golden Triangle, known for growth of illicit opium and where Burma, Laos and Thailand meet.