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Thailand: Dozens of people remain trapped under the rubble of a collapsed Bangkok skyscraper
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Mar 30, 2025
In Bangkok, rescue teams are frantically searching for 117 people still missing in the rubble of a collapsed 30-story tower.France24 correspondent Jan Camenzind Broomby reports, “Standing just meters from the collapsed skyscraper, people are experiencing the smell of death. For the families and those waiting to see if their loved ones are still alive, the chances are slim, as more than 72 hours have already passed since the collapse.”
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0:00
And the quake also jolting parts of neighboring Thailand, tragically toppling a skyscraper that was under construction where dozens of people remain trapped under the rubble
0:08
Let's speak to our correspondent, Yan Kempens and Brumby standing by in Bangkok
0:12
Hello to you, Yan. How are the rescue efforts going where you are
0:17
Well, I can talk you through the developments that we've seen just in the last few hours
0:22
We've been moved slightly away from the site itself. There's now much more activity going on right on the other side
0:30
of that wall where we can see really big, heavy machinery. These are cranes
0:35
These are large extenders. These are trucks that are trying to get in
0:39
trying to shift the rubble and get people out. And we did see something emerge some time ago
0:45
A figure, a body, presumably in a white bag, we think it was a dead body
0:51
although we haven't been able to confirm this. But what I also can tell you is that standing here
0:56
just really just meters from this rubble, every few minutes we are experiencing the smell of blotting the smell of dead bodies And that doesn bode well for the people that are trapped inside For the families of those who are waiting to see if their loved ones will emerge they counting down until that 72 hour mark after which experts suggest it really a limited
1:20
chance that the people who are in there are going to have to survive because of lack of food
1:24
and water. Similar accounts being reported across the border in Myanmar, the smell of decaying
1:30
bodies at these sites. That's very worrying. One difference, Myanmar, perhaps not having as much heavy equipment to dig through the rubble
1:39
A lot of people they're digging through with their hands. What more can you tell us
1:45
We've seen videos on social media of people digging through the rubble of a monastery with their bare hands
1:51
trying to get the people that are in there out in time before it's too late
1:56
I was just on the phone speaking to someone who is from Myanmar
1:59
She's thankfully safe in Thailand, but her relatives are stuck in a building inside
2:04
She said there are 11 of them all stuck in the same building. They haven't been able to get them out in time
2:09
Another person I've seen in Myanmar reporting that the city that she's in
2:14
it smells of death She said that the smell presumably of the rotting bodies Now the death toll has been increasing steadily over the days but we heard other independent estimate suggesting
2:25
death toll could rise to up to 10,000. That's really a catastrophe, an enormous catastrophe in Myanmar
2:32
and it's partially because of the lack of this heavy machinery. It's also partially because
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of the lack of infrastructure, and it's been really hard to get to many of the places that are the
2:41
most hard hit. We saw one of the bridges that connects Mandalay
2:45
one of the worst cities to the rest of Myanmar collapse into the water
2:50
And it's made the attempts by the rescue workers that I've been speaking to
2:54
to actually get to where they want much more difficult. And once they get there, they're not able to contact the teams or the leaders of the teams
3:01
back in the capital city or back in their headquarters because there is only internet
3:05
on an intermittent basis. So the teams out there operating, it seems semi-independently unable to coordinate between each other
3:13
and only able to really report back when this connection increases when they're able to actually connect
3:19
So rescue efforts really, really hampered in Myanmar at the moment. Yeah unless we forget all of this happening of course in the midst of a civil war in Myanmar Of course I mean that the other thing the really big thing the backdrop to all of this Since 2021 since the military junta took over in that coup we have seen what was festering
3:39
and already pre-existing tensions and violence really explode into what feels like an all-out
3:45
civil war in Myanmar. You have different militia groups controlling different areas at continuing to fight
3:52
We heard reports that the military junta conducted airstrikes just at. hours after the quake struck in areas where they were hoping to attack these militia groups
4:00
Now, one of the main militia groups, the PDF, the People's Defense Force, they have come out
4:05
and they've unilaterally declared a two-week peace, a two-week pause, essentially. But this is why I said it's unilateral
4:12
It hasn't been followed by everyone. And there are lots of different militia groups all fighting over different areas of terrorism
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all fighting each other. So it's really hard to imagine that this is going to be a piece that the whole of Myanmar sees
4:25
And so you have really what feels like a perfect or an imperfect storm here for the people stuck in Myanmar
4:32
You have a lack of infrastructure. You have an ongoing civil war and now an earthquake
4:37
All right, Jan, thank you very much. Jan Kemton Brumby, reporting from Bangkok
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