Seismic event hits Myanmar

– A powerful 6.8 magnitude earthquake struck central Myanmar yesterday, killing at least one person and damaging around 60 pagodas in the ancient city of Bagan, officials said.

The quake, which the US Geological Survey said hit at a depth of 84km, was also felt across neighbouring Thailand, India and Bangladesh.

At least one man was killed in the Magway region where the quake struck, said Han Zaw Win, a local MP from Pakokku township.

“A 22 year-old man was killed when a nearby building collapsed during the earthquake,” he said, adding that a woman was also injured.

A local official reported heavy damage to several temples in Bagan – Myanmar’s most famous archaeological site and a major tourist destination some 30km north of the quake’s epicentre.

“About 60 pagodas in Bagan were damaged. Some were seriously damaged,” said Aung Kyaw, the director of Bagan’s culture department.

Scaling Bagan’s ancient Buddhist monuments to watch the sun set over the city’s 2 500 temples is a daily ritual among tourists and local pilgrims who flock to the site.

The temples, built between the 10th and 14th centuries, are revered in the Buddhist-majority country.

Myanmar, which has opened its doors to a rising tide of visitors since emerging from junta rule in 2011, is eager to see the ancient capital designated as a Unesco world heritage site.

Soe Win, a local MP from Chauk – a riverside town close to the epicentre – said it was the worst earthquake he had experienced in years.

“More than eight pagodas in town collapsed. Two buildings collapsed as well. People in town are still scared.”

Services of the underground railway were suspended fearing aftershocks of the quake, Kolkata Metro Railway spokesperson Indrani Banerjee said – AFP.