Moment Myanmar quake strikes caught on camera

A strong earthquake of magnitude-6.8 struck northern Myanmar on Sunday, damaging several old Buddhist pagodas, collapsing a bridge and a gold mine and leaving as many as 12 people feared dead.

The moment the quake struck was caught on camera in the Sagaing area, with footage showing the dome of Mya Thein Tan Pagoda swaying dramatically.

State television reported that more than a dozen pagodas and stupas in five townships were damaged in the quake, and many of them had their so-called "umbrellas" atop the dome-shaped structures crash down.

The uppermost parts of the domes usually contain encased relics of the Buddha and small Buddha images, and sometimes jewels.

Damage to them is taken as an especially bad omen.

Myanmar's second-biggest city of Mandalay reported no casualties or major damage as the nearest major population centre to the quake's epicentre near the town of Shwebo.

The biggest single death toll was reported by a local administrative officer in Sintku township - on the Irrawaddy River near the quake's epicentre - who said that six people had died there and another 11 were injured.

According to news reports, several people died when a bridge under construction across the Irrawaddy River collapsed east of Shwebo.

The bridge linked the town of Sintku, 40 miles north of Mandalay on the east bank of the Irrawaddy, with Kyaukmyaung on the west bank.