"Children cried, people panicked": Chaos in schools & hotels as survivors recall Myanmar earthquake horror

As of now, over 1,000 people have been confirmed dead in Myanmar, with thousands injured. In Thailand, the death toll stands at 20, with dozens still trapped under collapsed buildings.

Chaos in Bangkok: ‘I Just Wanted to Get Out’

For those caught in the quake, the experience was terrifying. French tourist Augustin Gus, 23, was shopping for a T-shirt when the ground beneath him suddenly shifted.

“Just when I left the elevator, the earth started moving. I thought it was me… it was not me,” he said. “Everyone was screaming and running, so I started screaming as well.”

Others described scenes of confusion and desperation. Cristina Mangion, 31, from Malta, was in her hotel room when the tremors hit.

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“I thought I was feeling dizzy from the heat,” she recalled. Hotel staff rushed door-to-door checking on guests, some of whom were still in shock.

A business traveller from the Solomon Islands, who requested anonymity, described the scramble to evacuate from a high-rise.

“There were no procedures in place. Everyone was confused—I just wanted to get out,” he said.

Buildings Crumble, Lives Lost

One of the most dramatic scenes played out near Bangkok’s Chatuchak market, where a multi-storey construction site collapsed into a cloud of dust. Dozens of workers were buried under the rubble.

John Selvam, a Bangkok resident, was in a shopping mall when he heard the news.

“My car started moving on its own due to the earthquake… I immediately went out of the mall and called my home,” he told ANI.

Junpen Kaewnoi is still searching for her mother and sister, both painters who were working at the construction site when the quake struck.

“I kept calling, but it was unsuccessful. All I kept hearing was the continuous