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Balloons carrying tourists near old temples in Bagan, Myanmar. A powerful 6.8-magnitude earthquake shook central Myanmar today, damaging scores of ancient Buddhist pagodas in the former capital of Bagan.

Two children have died and 60 ancient temples have been damaged in a massive earthquake in Myanmar

Heavy damage was reported in Bagan, Myanmar’s most famous archaeological site and a major tourist destination some 30km north of the quake’s epicentre.

A POWERFUL 6.8 magnitude earthquake has struck central Myanmar, killing at least three people and damaging some 60 pagodas in the famous ancient city of Bagan, officials said.

The quake, which the US Geological Survey said hit at a depth of 84km (52 miles), was also felt across neighbouring Thailand, India and Bangladesh, sending panicked residents rushing onto the streets.

Two girls, aged 7 and 15, were killed in Magway region where the quake struck, according to Myanmar’s Ministry of Information.

A collapsed building in a nearby town also killed a 22-year-old man and injured one woman, local police told AFP.

Heavy damage was reported in Bagan – Myanmar’s most famous archaeological site and a major tourist destination some 30 kilometres north of the quake’s epicentre.

“About 60 pagodas in Bagan were damaged. Some were seriously damaged,” said Aung Kyaw, the director of Bagan’s culture department.

Myanmar Earthquake Temples in Bagan, Myanmar photographer earlier this year. AP / Press Association Images AP / Press Association Images / Press Association Images

Crumbling

Photos showed clouds of dust billowing around some of the site’s massive temples, with bricks crumbling down their tiered facades.

A tourist police officer from Bagan said a Spanish holidaymaker was slightly hurt when the quake knocked her from the temple where she was watching the sunset.

Scaling Bagan’s ancient structures to watch the sun set over the city’s 2,500 monuments is a daily ritual among tourists and local pilgrims.

The temples, built between the 10th and 14th centuries, are revered in the Buddhist-majority country and a top draw for its growing tourism industry.

Myanmar, which has opened its doors to a rising tide of visitors since emerging from junta rule in 2011, is eager to see the ancient capital designated as a UNESCO world heritage site.

Myanmar Daily Life AP / Press Association Images AP / Press Association Images / Press Association Images

‘Still scared’

Soe Win, a local politician from Chauk – the riverside town closest to the epicentre – said the tremors were the worst he had experienced in years.

“More than eight pagodas in town collapsed,” the 50-year-old told AFP, referring to Chauk.

Two buildings collapsed as well, while some others were cracked. People in town are still scared.

Damage was also reported in the capital Naypyidaw some 200km away, with MP Thiri Yadanar posting photos on Facebook of cracked glass windows inside a parliament building.

The earthquake caused high-rise buildings in Myanmar’s largest city Yangon to sway, as well as those in the Thai capital Bangkok and the Indian city of Kolkata.

“Services of the underground railway have been suspended fearing aftershocks of the quake,” Kolkata Metro Railway spokesman Indrani Banerjee told AFP.

The quake was also felt throughout south and southwestern Bangladesh close to the border with Myanmar, with residents running outside.

India Myanmar Earthquake People stand outdoors after they rushed pout of their offices following tremors in Kolkata, India, today - miles from the epicentre in central Myanmar. Bikas Das Bikas Das

At least 20 people were injured as workers tried to flee a building in the Savar industrial district outside Dhaka, ATN Bangla television reported.

“All of us ran to the streets leaving the houses and shops unsecured as the quake seemed very dangerous,” Nazmus Sakib, from the southern city of Chittagong near the Myanmar border, wrote on his Facebook wall.

Earthquakes are relatively common in Myanmar, although the country has not suffered a major one since 2012.

That powerful tremor – also of 6.8 magnitude – struck the centre of the country, killing 26 people and injuring hundreds.

- © AFP, 2016

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    Mute David cotter
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    Apr 12th 2020, 2:01 PM

    Bernie…Bernie come back ..we’re sorry don’t leave us with this muppit….

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    Mute SFAnkleTapper
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    Apr 12th 2020, 2:10 PM

    @David cotter: if it was Bernie v Trump…then Trump would definitely win…. he’ll probably win anyway but Bernie would make it a certainty.

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    Mute Corporate capitalism is killing us
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    Apr 12th 2020, 2:17 PM

    @SFAnkleTapper: Trump would disagree with you. He’s on tape as saying Sanders would have beat him in 2016 and a lot of Trump voters would have voted for Sanders also.

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    Mute Benedict XVI
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    Apr 12th 2020, 2:23 PM

    @SFAnkleTapper: What on earth are you talking about? Every single recent poll has Bernie Sanders and Biden both beating Trump in a general election. Not even Fox News has Trump winning.

    https://projects.fivethirtyeight.com/polls/president-general/

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    Mute SFAnkleTapper
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    Apr 12th 2020, 2:52 PM

    @Benedict XVI: would they be the same polls that had Hillary as a shoe in? Btw I’m no Trump supporter.

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    Mute SFAnkleTapper
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    Apr 12th 2020, 2:54 PM

    @Corporate capitalism is killing us: your actually using Trump as a basis for a credible story….

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    Mute Macus Mc Mahon
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    Apr 12th 2020, 3:00 PM

    @SFAnkleTapper: Biden is a bumbling clown who needs to retire, check his gaffes on YouTube. Bernie would be far stronger them sleepy Joe.

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    Mute David A. Murray
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    Apr 12th 2020, 3:01 PM

    @SFAnkleTapper: Biden’s greatest strength is that it is Trump he is going to be running against. Trump makes Biden’s weaknesses less blatant and Biden is a clear contrast to the type of president Trump is. If it was Biden competing against any other candidate, then I wouldn’t bet on Biden. But with Trump anything is possible (both for Trump and against Trump).

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    Mute Morning Gus
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    Apr 12th 2020, 4:14 PM

    @Benedict XVI: Don’t believe those polls and don’t be taking it too serious. You are most likely going to be disappointed when the results come in.

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    Mute Tom Doyle
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    Apr 12th 2020, 5:00 PM

    @SFAnkleTapper: Even though it hurts me to say this,i agree with you in saying that Biden has a much better chance than Bernie.Where I won’t agree with you is dissing the polls that Benedict put up,Trump is not up against Hillary this time.Also,he’ll struggle in the Rust Belt..

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    Mute Dave O'Keeffe
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    Apr 12th 2020, 6:47 PM

    @Corporate capitalism is killing us: brilliant, Trump saying that was to try to further divide a very fractured democrat party not an actual acknowledgement that he could have lost.

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    Mute david lydon
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    Apr 13th 2020, 7:09 AM

    @David cotter: Bernie is from Ireland? Or do you watch the West wing too much

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    Mute Patrick Paul
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    Apr 12th 2020, 3:15 PM

    I thought Democrats where bad when they selected Hillary Clinton as there presidential candidate 4 years but they’ve really outdone themselves this time round

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    Mute David Shiels
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    Apr 12th 2020, 2:05 PM

    America always gets the politicians it deserves.

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    Mute Kevin O' Brien
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    Apr 12th 2020, 2:17 PM

    @David Shiels: This is a recurring theme for you, am I right? For the record, I like Joe Biden. I would have preferred Bernie.

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    Mute Ale Ceaser
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    Apr 12th 2020, 2:17 PM

    @David Shiels: Like us? Haughy, Cowan, Ahern, Adams etc.

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    Mute Macus Mc Mahon
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    Apr 12th 2020, 3:06 PM

    @Kevin O’ Brienhttps://youtu.be/-rUvUxynOgk

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    Mute Kevin O' Brien
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    Apr 12th 2020, 5:46 PM

    @Macus Mc Mahon: ok

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    Mute Macus Mc Mahon
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    Apr 12th 2020, 3:09 PM
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    Mute Kath Noonan
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    Apr 12th 2020, 6:06 PM

    Sanders making a habit of giving up. His voters must be p*ssed off at this.

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    Mute Gerald OBrien
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    Apr 12th 2020, 11:14 PM

    The only way Biden will win is if he has a decent vice president nomination or if the trump brigade give up on their chosen one. Biden has completely lost the left and continues to put his foot in it further.

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    Mute Mark Reid
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    Apr 13th 2020, 1:22 AM

    @Gerald OBrien the left have lost themselves

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