Harrowing scenes emerged of bodies being lined up in the rubble as rescuers scoured for survivors from the quake, whose epicenter was detected near Myanmar’s second-largest city.

Myanmar’s military government has imposed a state of emergency after tremors caused deaths and destroyed buildings.

The horrifying 8.2-magnitude earthquake that struck Myanmar on Friday morning was felt across most of South-East Asia.

The powerful earthquake, which had its epicenter in central Myanmar about 13 miles from Mandalay, Myanmar’s second-largest city, struck around 12:50 p.m. local time, the New York Times reported. It was followed by several tremors, including a 6.4 magnitude aftershock which occurred just 11 minutes later.

A rescue team in Mandalay, the city closest to the earthquake's epicentre, tells the BBC they "are digging people out with our bare hands".

It sent buildings in many areas toppling to the ground, buckled roads, caused bridges to collapse and burst a dam.

A 7.7 magnitude earthquake and an aftershock measuring 6.4 rocked Myanmar and neighboring Thailand on Friday, bringing down buildings and disrupting power supplies and transport services.

Three people died in Myanmar after a mosque partially collapsed, according to reports. The quake destroyed multiple buildings and damaged palaces in popular tourist areas of Myanmar – a country already affected by the ongoing civil war between the military and the armed rebel forces.