Laos earthquake shakes Bangkok skyscrapers

Babgkok, May 16: A 6.1 magnitude earthquake struck northern Laos today, shaking buildings as far away as Bangkok, the Thai capital around 800 km to the south, the United States Geological Survey (USGS) said.

Shoppers fled some of Bangkok's many malls in panic and some high-rise office blocks were evacuated after they swayed.

The USGS Web site (http://earthquake.usgs.gov) said the quake, which hit at 1426 IST, was 92 miles from the ancient Lao capital of Luang Prabang, a world heritage site on account of its centuries-old Buddhist pagodas and temples.

Luang Prabang residents said they felt only minor shaking.

Longitude and latitude coordinates given by the USGS placed the quake's epicentre in the sparsely populated, mountainous northern province of Luang Namtha, in the heart of the ''Golden Triangle'' opium producing region near the Myanmar and Chinese borders.

Google Earth measurements suggested it was 45 km (28 miles) from the border of southwest China.

Reuters>