Massive quake kills more than 150 in Myanmar, Thailand

A huge earthquake hit Myanmar and Thailand on Friday, killing more than 150 people and injuring hundreds, with dozens trapped in collapsed buildings and the death toll expected to rise.

The shallow 7.7-magnitude tremor hit northwest of the city of Sagaing in central Myanmar in the early afternoon, and was followed minutes later by a 6.4-magnitude aftershock.

The quake flattened buildings, downed bridges, and cracked roads across swathes of Myanmar, and even demolished a 30-storey skyscraper under construction hundreds of kilometres (miles) away in Bangkok.

While the full extent of the catastrophe is yet to emerge, the leader of isolated Myanmar, in the grip of a civil war, issued a rare plea for international aid.

Junta chief Min Aung Hlaing said 144 people had been killed, with 732 confirmed injured, but warned the toll was "likely to rise".

Eight deaths have been confirmed so far in Thailand, with more expected.

"I would like to invite any country, any organisation, or anyone in Myanmar to come and help. Thank you," he said in a televised speech, after visiting a hospital in the capital Naypyidaw.

He urged massive relief efforts in the wake of the disaster and said he had "opened all ways for foreign aid".

US President Donald Trump said Washington would be offering assistance.