2 days ago
9
The survivors of the deadly
Myanmar-Thailand earthquake
that killed over 1,000 recounted how they escaped death while the structures collapsed in the "blink of an eye".
As they described the scenes of devastation, rescuers detailed the challenges of reaching those still trapped beneath the rubble of collapsed buildings.
The series of quakes, with 7.7 magnitude being the deadliest, caused widespread destruction, toppling buildings, collapsing bridges, and damaging roads.
'It's like a ruined city'
Describing the "scenes of tragedy" in Myanmar's Mandalay, a survivor told BBC, "It's like a ruined city. Some are still stuck under rubble. It was so severe. So severe that I have never seen anything shaking like that."
"It lasted around three to four minutes. I was receiving messages from friends and realising that it was not just in Yangon, but also many places across the country," another survivor said.
In Myanmar’s capital, Nay Pyi Taw, a rescuer said that they attempted to free a person trapped inside a house but were unable to do so. Later, they recovered a body and rescued a critically injured individual from a goldsmith’s shop, where shop officials reported that 17 people remained trapped.
"We can only find people where we can hear them," the rescuer told.
'Blink of an eye'
A construction worker described his miraculous escape after a Bangkok skyscraper collapsed "in the blink of an eye".
"When my shift ended around 1pm I went outside to get water and I saw my younger brother before I went out," construction worker Khin Aung told AFP.
"When I went outside, I saw dust everywhere and I just ran to escape from the collapsing building," Aung added.
"I video-called my brother and friends but only one picked up the phone. But I can't see his face and I heard he was running. At that point the whole building was shaking but while I was on a call with him, I lost the call and the building collapsed," Aung said. "I can't describe how I feel -- it happened in the blink of an eye," he said.
While Chinatown remained unscathed, the situation in Chatuchak was far worse. A 30-story building under construction collapsed, leaving fears of mass casualties.
"I was actually in Chinatown, which is another place to shop. All of a sudden, the floor started moving, so I was looking down, and then everybody started screaming, panicking, and everybody tried to exit the market in these little narrow passages. We were all pretty scared, running, screaming, pushing to get out of the building. Nothing happened in that market in Chinatown. But as we can see here in Chatuchak, it was a different story... I'm not too sure what building that was. It was under construction and, I guess, 30-storey high. We saw the pictures of the collapse, so I'm sure there's a lot of people under this rubble..," a tourist John said.
Authorities estimate that up to 100 workers could be trapped beneath the debris of the collapsed tower, now reduced to rubble and twisted metal. At least five fatalities have been confirmed, but the
death toll
is expected to climb.
As rescue teams combed through the wreckage, family members gathered at the site of the 30-story tower, which crumbled to the ground in mere seconds on Friday.
