Huge 7.7 magnitude earthquake hits Bangkok, DESTROYING house block and forcing vacationers to flee inns as high-rise buildings are rocked by tremors

A strong 7.7 magnitude earthquake has rocked the Thai capital, shaking high-rise buildings and causing an apartment block to collapse.

The US Geological Survey and Germany‘s GFZ centre for geosciences said the incident was at a shallow 6.2 miles, with an epicentre in neighbouring Myanmar, according to preliminary reports.

The greater Bangkok area is home to more than 17 million people, many of whom live in high-rise apartments.

Shocking video has shown the moment workers fled as a building under construction collapsed as it was shaken by the force of the quake.

Alarms went off in buildings as the earthquake hit around 1.30pm local time, and startled residents were evacuated down staircases of high-rise buildings and hotels in densely populated central Bangkok.

They remained in the streets, seeking shade from the midday sun in the minutes after the quake.

Terrifying footage shows the moment an apartment block under construction collapsed in Bangkok

Workers fled in terror as the building gave way after being shaken by the force of the quake

Panicked residents stand outside an office building in Bangkok after the earthquake

People hug one another following the huge tremors that shook buildings in Bangkok

There were no immediate reports of damage or casualties.

The quake was forceful enough to send water sloshing out of pools, some high up in high-rises, as the tremor shook.

The epicentre of the earthquake was in central Myanmar, 30 miles east of the city of Monywa.

There were no immediate reports of the effect of the earthquake in Myanmar, which is in the middle of a civil war.