Families of those trapped in rubble of collapsed Bangkok building after earthquake face agonising wait
In Bangkok, at the site where a mass of rubble sits, rescue workers have the machinery they need and the manpower to try and pull people out of the high-rise building that collapsed.
In neighbouring Myanmar, they certainly don’t have that kind of capacity and they’re confronting a much larger death toll – one that is rising.
And yet, progress at the site where an unfinished building was instantly destroyed has been painfully slow.
All day, we watched as cranes tried to shift the concrete and steel around to make way for rescuers to enter.
Tide Banluerit, a volunteer rescuer, emerged looking bewildered after 11 hours inside.
“I looked at the structure and the foundation looked strong,'” he said. “But it’s not meant to collapse like dominoes and stack like pancakes in that way.”
But there is still hope.
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Moment Bangkok building collapses after earthquake
The Thai police told us overnight that they had seen signs of life on thermal imaging systems.
Perhaps as many as 15 people, they believed.
Families of the missing were holding on to those nuggets of information – holding vigil at a dusty area now full of makeshift water and footstalls, laid on to support the round-the-clock rescue efforts.
Hovering outside a white tent, Munyapa Thongkorn was waiting for news.
Wiping away tears as she clutched onto her husband, she told me her 17-year-old daughter Naiyana was trapped.
She was working as an electrician inside the multi-storey building when the quake hit.
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Munyapa Thongkorn’s daughter is missing after the building collapse
Naiyana, 17, was working as an electrician inside the building when the quake hit
“They told me she’s still inside, still stuck,” she says. “I was only just talking to my friends about her before the earthquake. But I haven’t been able to reach her since.”
A rescuer told me he thought it could be 72 hours before they could properly get inside the mangled structure.
That’s a long time when every second counts.
In Myanmar, people are using their own hands to pull their neighbours from the rubble.
There have been some miraculous escapes.
Tide Banluerit spent 11 hours inside the building looking for survivors
Pic: Reuters
One video from Mandalay shows a young woman emerging from the smallest of gaps – a flash of a hand and then a smile – confirmation after a long rescue that she had survived against all the odds.
China, Russia, and India have sent teams into the country now after the ruling military junta asked for international support – a rare move.
They have their work cut out.
Information in the isolated country has been slow to emerge – the junta restricting access to the internet.
But videos are starting to show the scale of destruction and the death toll, at over 1,600 as of Saturday evening, is expected to rise.
A woman cries as she waits for news as rescue work is under way. Pic: AP
Rescue workers at the site of the collapsed building. Pic: Reuters
The US Geological Survey says it could rise as high as 10,000.
The infrastructure has long been under pressure from a bloody civil war in Myanmar.
It could easily be totally overwhelmed by this disaster.
Hospitals are among the buildings hit.
Over the next 48 hours, we will find out a bit more about just how grave the situation is on the ground.
Traversing the roads, let alone the whim of the ruling junta, is deeply challenging.
But even the military concedes, this time, it needs help and fast.
Two people have died and more than one million people evacuated after a storm bearing down on the Philippines intensified into a super typhoon and made landfall on Sunday.
Fung-wong started battering eastern and central parts of the country, causing power outages, and forcing President Ferdinand Marcos Jr to declare a state of emergency.
One person drowned in Catanduanes and firefighters recovered the body of a woman trapped under the debris of a collapsed home in Catbalogan City, officials said.
A satellite image shows Storm Fung-wong, which has intensified into a super typhoon. Pic: CSU/CIRA & JMA/JAXA/Handout via Reuters
A man walks in the rain with an umbrella as Typhoon Fung-wong approaches, in Cauayan, Isabela, Philippines. Pic: Reuters
Evacuations under way in Quezon province. Pic: Philippine Coast Guard via AP
An evacuation centre in Manila. Pic: Reuters
Packing sustained winds of 115mph and gusts of up to 140mph, Super Typhoon Fung-wong made landfall in Aurora province in central Luzon.
Those living in high-risk villages in northeastern provinces were told to evacuate, including in Bicol, a coastal region vulnerable to Pacific cyclones and mudflows from Mayon, one of the country’s most active volcanoes.
Defence secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr warned Fung-wong could affect a vast expanse of the country, including the capital Manila, and Cebu, the central province hit hardest by the deadly Typhoon Kalmaegi just days ago.
More than 200 people were killed in the earlier typhoon, and around 100 are still missing.
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Filipinos stranded on roofs amid Typhoon floods
Mr Teodoro Jr urged residents to heed evacuation orders, warning refusing to comply was dangerous and unlawful.
“We ask people to pre-emptively evacuate so that we don’t end up having to conduct rescues at the last minute, which could put the lives of police, soldiers, firefighters and coast guard personnel at risk,” he said in a public address.
More than 30 million people could be exposed to hazards posed by Fung-wong, the Office of Civil Defence said.
The projection of the route that will be taken by Super Typhoon Fung-wong by Japan’s national weather agency. Pic: JMA
In Isabela in northern Luzon, dozens of families were sheltering at a basketball court repurposed as an evacuation centre.
“We’re scared,” said Christopher Sanchez, 50, who fled his home with his family. “We’re here with our grandchildren and our kids. The whole family is in the evacuation area.”
Nearly 400 domestic and international flights have been cancelled, according to the civil aviation regulator.
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Deadly tornado tears through southern Brazil
Deadly tornado in Brazil
Meanwhile, a powerful tornado ripped through the southern state of Parana in Brazil – killing at least six and injuring more than 750 people, state officials said on Saturday.
The tornado left a trail of destruction, downing trees, overturning vehicles and damaging buildings.
Roads were also blocked and power lines damaged, with authorities saying around 1,000 people were displaced,
“We will continue to assist the people of Parana and provide all the help needed,” President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva wrote on X.
The UK is deploying a specialist Royal Air Force team to help defend Belgium’s skies following a series of sightings of “rogue” drones, the defence secretary and his military chief have revealed.
The ground-based unit will be equipped with kit that can track and take down unmanned aerial systems.
It is not yet clear who is responsible for the drone incursions, which forced the country’s main airport near Brussels to close temporarily and have also impacted Belgian military bases.
However, there are suspicions that they could be linked to Russia.
Other NATO nations have also experienced similar problems, including Denmark and Germany.
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Air Chief Marshal Sir Rich Knighton, speaking to Trevor Phillips on Sky News, said his Belgian counterpart had called him to request British support.
Queen Camilla looks at counter-drone equipment during a visit to RAF Leeming, Northallerton, in September 2024. Pic: PA
“I had my Belgian opposite number – the chief of the defence staff – in touch with me this week, seeking our help to track and potentially defeat the drones,” he said.
“We agreed with the defence secretary on Friday that we would send our people and our equipment into Belgium to help them with the current problem they have got there.”
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Queen Camilla, who is an honorary air commodore, inspects counter-drone equipment. Pic: PA
John Healey, the defence secretary, said: “When our NATO allies call, we step up. Belgium requested urgent support to counter rogue drone activity at their military bases, so I’ve directed a small team of RAF specialists to deploy immediately.
“As hybrid threats grow, our strength lies in our alliances and our collective resolve to defend, deter and protect our critical infrastructure and airspace.”
The RAF team is trained and equipped to combat drones.
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