These brave window cleaners may have found the world's riskiest job - scaling high-rise buildings that are falling apart just days after an earthquake.

Footage shows the Burmese workers as they returned to work on the outskirts of Bangkok, Thailand, on March 31.

It was just four days after a magnitude 7.7 earthquake in neighbouring Myanmar killed more than 2,000 people.

Thousands of buildings in Thailand were also damaged, with engineers deployed across the country to check their structural safety. One Chinese-made skyscraper even collapsed, killing 20 workers.

But there was little time to be afraid for Maung and his colleague Oo as they returned to work on Monday, abseiling from the top of high-rise apartments.

They could only look on at the huge cracks in the sides of the brickwork, with one building crumbling as they worked, giving a view of the inside of a resident's room.

Maung said: 'This didn't feel safe but I put all my trust in the rope to hold us. We have to return to work, even when the buildings are damaged.

'Fortunately, the buildings are structurally safe. The main beams are secure. But the walls are cracked, so it looks very scary.'

The US Geological Survey said the earthquake struck at a depth of 10 kilometres (six miles), and was centred in Myanmar, around 50 kilometres (30 miles) east of Monywa, along the Sagaing fault.

Residents ran from their homes when they felt the tremors shortly after 1:20 pm local time. More than 2,000 people in the Myanmar, or Burma, have been killed and some 4,000, with rescue efforts ongoing.

The quake destroyed buildings, bridges, and dams, leaving many areas in ruins. Communication remains difficult as mobile networks are down, and access to electricity and the internet is limited.

In neighbouring Thailand, high-rise buildings shook and an apartment block under construction collapsed in Bangkok. At least 20 people were killed.