"It all happened in about one and a half minutes. It was just like a movie... how earthquakes are portrayed. Rupkotha and I experienced it live!"

Tanvir Sohel and his nine-year-old daughter narrowly escaped a potentially fatal incident in Bangkok when a powerful earthquake rocked Thailand and Myanmar, destroying buildings and killing more than 150 people in the two Southeast Asian countries.

Tanvir, chief news editor at Digital Media of independent24.tv, and his daughter Ariana Rupkotha were on the 24th floor of the 32-storey Bumrungrad International Hospital located in the Sukhumvit area of Bangkok, where at least 10 people died and a high-rise under construction collapsed.

Sohel, who travelled to Thailand on March 27, said he checked into the hospital for his daughter's treatment around 9:45am local time yesterday.

"We were almost done. We consulted the doctor and got some tests done on Ariana. Then, I had a plan to get a test for myself, and a nurse was taking me to a CT scan room on the 24th floor," Tanvir told The Daily Star last night over the phone, sharing his experience during the earthquake.

He said around 1:22pm he felt the building sway. At first, he thought he was feeling dizzy, but then he saw things falling around him, and the building was shaking.

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Myanmar quake kills over 150

"The computers and other equipment were falling down, crashing into one another, and the lift was shaking. Glass from the exterior of the building was breaking and falling apart," Tanvir said.

Nurses rushed to take care of patients and tried to protect children by holding them and creating a human shield over their heads.

"We also came out of the hospital amid the earthquake the way people survive earthquakes in the movies. Believe it or not…!" he said.

He saw many patients stranded in the lifts and had no idea if rescuers could reach all of them.

"I talked to many Thai people here, but they said they had never experienced such a powerful earthquake," Tanvir said.

Bangkok city authorities reported that 10 people were killed, 16 injured, and 101 were missing from three construction sites, including the high-rise.

The 7.7 magnitude quake struck at midday, with its epicentre near Mandalay, Myanmar's second-largest city. Aftershocks followed, one of which measured a strong 6.4 magnitude.

Thailand is a popular tourist destination for many Bangladeshis, who often go there for medical treatment, and the number of patients has been increasing amid the reduction of Indian visas since the middle of last year.

Tanvir said despite the horrors, he was impressed by the integrity of the nurses at the hospital who were supporting the patients, especially the children, with utmost care.

"One of the nurses said they as nurses have a responsibility to save the children first," Tanvir recalled.

He spoke to some Bangladeshis after returning to his hotel but found no information on whether any Bangladeshis were hurt.

"As of now, the Thai authorities said 90 people were missing. We have no idea if there are any Bangladeshis among them," he told this correspondent.