Scramble at 30-storey Bangkok building reduced to rubble

Under the Bangkok sunset, hundreds of rescuers are sparing no effort in searching for survivors amidst the ruins of a collapsed 30-story skyscraper at a construction site in the Thai capital. This catastrophic collapse has captured everyone's hearts, and the rescue work is of utmost urgency.

Rescuers are doing everything they can to try and save dozens of workers trapped in the rubble. The scene of the accident is a complete mess, with twisted rebar exposed and mountains of concrete piled up as high as three stories. A group of journalists, including myself, stood on a bridge not far from the scene, watching the scene in disbelief against the backdrop of the orange sky.

Although an increasing number of professional rescue teams and military personnel arrived on the scene and set up searchlights, the hope of finding more survivors seemed slim. Previously, a shallow 7.7-magnitude earthquake occurred in central Myanmar, followed minutes later by a 6.4-magnitude aftershock, causing buildings to collapse and roads to rupture. Thailand also felt the impact and destruction of the earthquake, and many residents were caught off guard by this sudden natural disaster.

It is understood that the collapsed building belonged to the National Audit Office, had been under construction for three years, and cost more than 2 billion baht (approximately $59 million; £45 million), but now it has been reduced to rubble. Outside the cordon, white tents have been set up, and rescuers in bright yellow hard hats are working hard to rescue the approximately 81 people trapped under the collapsed skyscraper. Thai Defense Minister Phumtham Wechachai told reporters that three deaths had been confirmed. Earlier, I saw two covered bodies being carried into the tents.

The road leading to the building was packed with fire trucks, ambulances, and other rescue vehicles. Curious onlookers also gathered on the bridge, trying to understand what had happened. Heavy machinery, including a large crane, has begun to arrive on the scene. Rescuers said they need these devices to clear the rubble before they can begin searching for the missing. Less than an hour after the collapse, I arrived at the scene and saw many construction workers covered in dust, shocked that they had just narrowly escaped death.

Adisorn Kamphasorn, 18, was carrying materials from the sixth floor when he suddenly felt a tremor. He looked up at the stairwell and saw the crane swaying. "I knew something was wrong," he told me. "I ran. The building collapsed in a minute. Suddenly, there was smoke everywhere, and it was pitch black. I couldn't breathe. I didn't have a mask." He hadn't had time to contact his family because he lost his phone in the chaos and said he had never experienced anything like this and thought he was going to die. According to construction workers, they were a mix of Thai and Burmese.

Nukul Khemutha, 30, was working on the fifth floor when he felt the tremor and looked up to see all the floors sinking, with holes appearing. He said that one of his colleagues had just gone to the tenth floor to use the restroom, and they were still waiting for news of him. "We were all screaming 'run,' telling each other to hold hands and run together," he told me. As I spoke with them, they sat there smoking, trying to calm down, looking sad. Because all the attention was focused on those who were still trapped, no survivors received medical attention.

As the sound of drilling grows louder, rescuers face a long night. They will continue to work hard in the hope of finding more survivors and helping those affected by this disaster.