‘We wait, we wait’: Families cling to hope as 76 remain missing in Bangkok skyscraper collapse

Nevin Al Sukari - Sana'a - Rescue workers are lifted on a crane during search-and-rescue operations at the site of an under-construction building collapse in Bangkok. — AFP pic

BANGKOK, March 31 — Three days after a Bangkok skyscraper collapsed in the wake of a devastating earthquake in neighbouring Myanmar, Naruemol Thonglek is still praying that her boyfriend will emerge from the immense pile of rubble where the building once stood.

The sudden crumbling of the 30-storey tower, which was under construction at the time of Friday’s 7.7-magnitude quake, has killed at least 11 people and rescue workers are racing to find 76 others still trapped among the debris.

Electrician Kyi Than, the boyfriend of Naruemol, is among those missing under the enormous mound of concrete and twisted metal being lifted by mechanical diggers as part of the desperate search.

“I’m devastated... I’ve never seen anything like this in my entire life,” 45-year-old Naruemol told AFP from a small shelter near the site, where a group of around 50 relatives await news.

“I still pray that he is alive but if he is no longer alive then I hope that we can retrieve his body,” she said.

Among the missing are Thais, Laotians, Cambodians and Myanmar nationals.

Many relatives are choosing to sleep in the shelter, on camp beds or directly on the stone floor, and are reluctant to leave in case news emerges.

Saifah, a Thai Ridgeback of a Thai K9 rescue unit, has its nose flushed by veterinary volunteers after taking part in search-and-rescue operations at the site of an under-construction building collapse in Bangkok today. — AFP pic

‘We wait, we wait’

Rain fell today at the site, where sniffer dogs and thermal imaging drones have been deployed to seek signs of life in the collapsed building, which is close to the Chatuchak weekend market popular among tourists.

Around lunchtime, Tavida Kamolvej, the deputy governor of Bangkok, raised hopes over a noise or movement in the rubble that could be a survivor, but cautioned that the situation was still extremely unclear and they needed “a quiet moment” to work out its origin.

Thailand Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra was ushered away from the site, which she had been visiting, as experts rushed to help.

At least 18 people have been killed in Bangkok following the quake that struck near Mandalay early Friday afternoon, causing severe damage in central Myanmar in particular and killing more than 1,700 people across the country.

In the Thai capital, 33 people have been injured and 78 are still missing, most of them under the rubble of the building site.

Naruemol said Kyi Than, a Myanmar national, was among a group of electricians—including his son—working on the 26th floor.

She told AFP she had lit incense and candles, prayed and wished, begging her boyfriend to return alive.

“If you can hear my voice, if you’re still alive, please shout and let the officials know,” she said, calling out to Kyi Than.

Elsewhere in the shelter, Daodee Paruay said she had been at the site for two days, hoping for a miracle. Her brother, also an electrician, is under the rubble.

“We wait. We wait. We will wait until (they are) found,” she said. — AFP