Devastated Relatives await news from Bangkok building collapse

BANGKOK - Three days after a Bangkok skyscraper collapsed in the wake of a devastating earthquake in neighbouring Myanmar, Ms 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 March 28’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 Ms 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 Ms 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.

Rain fell on March 31 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, Ms 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