At least 75 killed in Myanmar quake

At least 75 people were killed and hundreds left homeless Friday after a strong earthquake hit Myanmar, as aid workers said it could be days before the extent of the damage becomes clear.

Tremors were felt as far away as Bangkok, almost 800 kilometres from the epicentre, Hanoi and parts of China when the magnitude 6.8 quake hit late on Thursday, Montreal Gazette reports.

The earthquake, which measured 6.8 on the Richter scale, struck on Thursday night.

It was centred just north of the town of Tachilek in the mountains along the Thai border, and it was felt as far away as Bangkok and the Vietnamese capital Hanoi.

Burma state radio announced yesterday that 74 people had been killed and 111 injured in the earthquake, but it was updating the total frequently. It said that 390 houses, 14 monasteries and nine government buildings were damaged, according to Bangkok Post reports.