A major earthquake hit central Burma on Sunday near Mandalay, its second-biggest city, but early information suggested damage was limited and initial reports mentioned only one person dead, although several construction workers were missing.
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The 6.6 magnitude earthquake struck around 60 kilometres north-west of Mandalay, the US Geological Survey said. It was quite shallow at about 10 kilometres deep.
"I've never felt such a strong tremor. I also heard some loud noises and the light went out. No idea about the damage," one Mandalay resident said by telephone.
Several very strong aftershocks also hit the region but there were no reports of serious damage in Mandalay.
Residents in Bangkok, the capital of neighbouring Thailand, also felt the quake.
An official at Mandalay Meteorological Department said the epicentre was near the town of Shwebo and struck at 7.41am local time.
Local media said a half-built bridge over the Irrawaddy River near Shwebo and Kyauk Myaung had collapsed and there may have been casualties.
A police officer in Shwebo said one woman had died and 10 people had been injured in Kyauk Myaung.
"A house collapsed in Kyauk Myaung. The Radana Thinga Bridge, still under construction, over the river was badly damaged. A huge steel beam fell into the river and five workers went missing," he told Reuters.
A resident of Singgu, opposite Kyauk Myaung on the east side of the Irrawaddy, said some people were injured in the town and a few were killed at the river bank but this could not be confirmed with official sources.
State television, the usual mouthpiece for government statements in Burma along with state-run newspapers, gave a report on the quake that did not mention casualties or damage.
Local media reported minor damage in several areas around Mandalay, including Amarapura, a town popular with tourists because of its monasteries and the longest teak bridge in the world. Pagodas had been damaged there, media said.
Burma is among Asia's poorest countries.
A quasi-civilian government has opened up the country since taking over in March 2011 from the military, which had ruled for nearly 50 years.
The military regime was condemned by humanitarian agencies in 2008 for initially refusing international help to cope with Cyclone Nargis, which killed more than 130,000 people.
President Barack Obama is set to become the first US leader to visit Burma this month, the strongest international endorsement of the country's fragile democratic transition.
Obama will travel to Burma during a November 17 to 20 tour of south-east Asia that will also take in Thailand and Cambodia. It will be his first international trip since winning a second term last week.
Reuters
