BANGKOK (AP) — When the earthquake that hit Myanmar sent its tremors to Thailand, Naruemon Thonglek didn’t immediately know it also had collapsed a high-rise building under construction in Bangkok.
Seeing images of the debris on television news later, Naruemon immediately recognized the building where her long-time Burmese partner, his son and four of her friends had worked for the past month.
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Rescuers work at the site a high-rise building under construction that collapsed after a 7.7 magnitude earthquake in Bangkok, Thailand, Friday, March 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Wason Wanichakorn)
A woman reacts after being informed that her husband had died at the site of a collapsed under construction high-rise building in Bangkok, Thailand, Sunday, March 30, 2025. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit)
A relative consoles Kasorn, center, whose husband died in an under-construction high-rise building that collapsed on Friday, as they wait to take the body from the mortuary of a police hospital, in Bangkok, Thailand, Sunday, March, 30, 2025. (AP Photo/Manish Swarup)
Natthanan Kaewkaiyasit, whose husband died in an under-construction high-rise building that collapsed on Friday, cries as she waits to take his body from a mortuary of a police hospital, in Bangkok, Thailand, Monday, March 31, 2025. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit)
Heavy machineries are employed to clear the huge pile of concrete from the site of an under-construction high-rise building that collapsed on Friday after an earthquake in Bangkok, Thailand, Tuesday, April 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Wason Wanichakorn)
Rescuers talk as heavy machineries are employed to clear the huge pile of concrete at an under-construction high-rise building that collapsed after an earthquake in Bangkok, Thailand, Tuesday, April 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Manish Swarup)
A rescuers talks on his walkie-talkie as heavy machineries are employed to clear the huge pile of concrete at an under-construction high-rise building that collapsed after an earthquake in Bangkok, Thailand, Tuesday, April 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Manish Swarup)
Rescuers return from the site of an under-construction high-rise building that collapsed on Friday after an earthquake in Bangkok, Thailand, Tuesday, April 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Wason Wanichakorn)
A rescuer walks past a heavy machinery at an under-construction high-rise building that collapsed after an earthquake in Bangkok, Thailand, Tuesday, April 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Manish Swarup)
Rescuers search for victims at the damaged construction site of a high-rise building in Bangkok, Thailand, Saturday, March 29, 2025, following its collapse after Friday' earthquake. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit)
Rescuers make their way in from the top of debris to look for survivors from an under-construction high-rise building that collapsed after an earthquake in Bangkok, Thailand, Monday, March, 31, 2025. (AP Photo/Manish Swarup)
A rescuer looks for survivors at the site of an under-construction high-rise building that collapsed after an earthquake in Bangkok, Thailand, Monday, March, 31, 2025. (AP Photo/Wason Wanichakorn)
Rescuers walk past the ruin of a high-rise building under construction that collapsed after a strong earthquake in Bangkok, Thailand, Saturday, March 29, 2025. (AP Photo/Wason Wanichakorn)
Rescuers get ready for the day to work at the site of an under-construction high-rise building that collapsed after an earthquake in Bangkok, Thailand, Monday, March 31, 2025. (AP Photo/Manish Swarup)
Punyang, 28, right, from Cambodia, sits with her relatives who have come to look for their uncle, who was working in an under-construction high-rise building that collapsed in an earthquake, in Bangkok, Thailand, Monday, March, 31, 2025. (AP Photo/Manish Swarup)
Buaban Konkham, 55, left, talks on her mobile as she waits for news of her son, who is missing after an under-construction high-rise building collapsed in an earthquake in Bangkok, Thailand, Monday, March, 31, 2025. (AP Photo/Manish Swarup)
Naruemol Thonglek, top right, waits for news of her partner, sitting with other people looking for their relatives who were at the site where an under-construction high-rise building collapsed after an earthquake in Bangkok, Thailand, Monday, March, 31, 2025. (AP Photo/Manish Swarup)
Duria, who is searching for his relatives, talks on the phone after reading the sign board of number of people dead and missing after an under-construction high-rise building collapsed in an earthquake in Bangkok, Thailand, Monday, March, 31, 2025. (AP Photo/Manish Swarup)
Chanpen Keawnoi shows the photograph of her missing mother to a woman who is also looking for her relatives after an under-construction high-rise building collapsed after an earthquake in Bangkok, Thailand, Monday, March, 31, 2025. (AP Photo/Manish Swarup)
Chanpen Keawnoi waits to hear the news of her missing mother and sister who were in the under-construction high-rise building that collapsed after an earthquake in Bangkok, Thailand, Monday, March, 31, 2025. (AP Photo/Manish Swarup)
Naruemol Thonglek, right, with her daughter, waits for news of her partner, who is missing after the collapse of an under-construction high-rise building after an earthquake in Bangkok, Thailand, Monday, March, 31, 2025. (AP Photo/Manish Swarup)
“My legs gave up. I lost all strength in my hands,” she said. “After the quake stopped I called him, messaged him, but there was no response. I couldn’t contact him. I sent him voice messages and he never read it. Then I knew for sure that he must have been inside.”
At least 18 people died in Bangkok, Thailand's capital, more than 800 miles (1,287 kilometers) from the center of the magnitude 7.7 quake in Myanmar on Friday, which killed more than 2,000 people there. According to Myanmar state television, the quake has so far killed 2,065 people, with more than 3,900 injured and about 270 missing.
Relief agencies expect those numbers to rise sharply, since access is slow to remote areas where communications are down.
In Bangkok, 78 people remain missing. Thai authorities are racing against time to find anyone left alive under the ruins as the crucial 72-hour mark passes. While the authorities have said they detected possible sounds of life, so far only one person was pulled alive from the rubble.
Tavida Kamolvej, Bangkok’s deputy governor, told reporters at the site Monday that crews are speeding up the search.
“Every second really counts,” she said.
Among those missing are the mother and younger sister of Chanpen Kaewnoi, who had been working at the site for a couple of months.
Chanpen said she couldn’t contact them after the quake, but later was told by a survivor that they had been on the fifth floor of the 30-story building.
“He told me that they ran from the fifth floor, and once he reached the ground, the building just collapsed,” she said. “He said he couldn’t find my mom and my sister. He said it was just a split second and he lost them.”
Naruemon said her partner, Kyi Tan, and the other five were assigned to work much higher up on the 26th floor. While her partner had extensive construction experience, this was his first high-rise project. As he left home on the morning of the quake, he said he would stay late in the hope of finishing his work by the end of the month.
Naruemon and Chanpen said they never heard their family members raise safety concerns while working at the building.
The authorities said they are investigating the cause of the building collapse as criticisms and concerns grow over safety and quality standards of Bangkok buildings. Chadchart Sittipunt, the city governor, has ordered a blanket inspection of all high-rise buildings in the capital.
Videos of the collapse show the building, which was meant to be a new State Audit Office, shaking a little before tumbling to the ground, sending a huge plume of dust into the sky as people scream and run away.
When Naruemon arrived at the site the following day, the scene of the ruins broke her spirit.
“I had a meltdown. I could only pray. I kept calling for them,” she said. “I wanted them to come back. I was so devastated. I didn’t know what to do.”
For two days, Naruemon walked around near the site with her family and friends, hoping to see any developments as heavy machines and rescue crews searched for survivors. She prayed and performed a religious rite asking the spirits to protect her loved ones.
“I want everyone trapped there to be found. In whatever conditions, I’m ok with it,” she said. “I’ve already made some peace with it. It’s been a few days already. A part of me still hopes they will survive, for a miracle, if it exists.”
Rescuers work at the site a high-rise building under construction that collapsed after a 7.7 magnitude earthquake in Bangkok, Thailand, Friday, March 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Wason Wanichakorn)
A woman reacts after being informed that her husband had died at the site of a collapsed under construction high-rise building in Bangkok, Thailand, Sunday, March 30, 2025. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit)
A relative consoles Kasorn, center, whose husband died in an under-construction high-rise building that collapsed on Friday, as they wait to take the body from the mortuary of a police hospital, in Bangkok, Thailand, Sunday, March, 30, 2025. (AP Photo/Manish Swarup)
Natthanan Kaewkaiyasit, whose husband died in an under-construction high-rise building that collapsed on Friday, cries as she waits to take his body from a mortuary of a police hospital, in Bangkok, Thailand, Monday, March 31, 2025. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit)
Heavy machineries are employed to clear the huge pile of concrete from the site of an under-construction high-rise building that collapsed on Friday after an earthquake in Bangkok, Thailand, Tuesday, April 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Wason Wanichakorn)
Rescuers talk as heavy machineries are employed to clear the huge pile of concrete at an under-construction high-rise building that collapsed after an earthquake in Bangkok, Thailand, Tuesday, April 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Manish Swarup)
A rescuers talks on his walkie-talkie as heavy machineries are employed to clear the huge pile of concrete at an under-construction high-rise building that collapsed after an earthquake in Bangkok, Thailand, Tuesday, April 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Manish Swarup)
Rescuers return from the site of an under-construction high-rise building that collapsed on Friday after an earthquake in Bangkok, Thailand, Tuesday, April 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Wason Wanichakorn)
A rescuer walks past a heavy machinery at an under-construction high-rise building that collapsed after an earthquake in Bangkok, Thailand, Tuesday, April 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Manish Swarup)
Rescuers search for victims at the damaged construction site of a high-rise building in Bangkok, Thailand, Saturday, March 29, 2025, following its collapse after Friday' earthquake. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit)
Rescuers make their way in from the top of debris to look for survivors from an under-construction high-rise building that collapsed after an earthquake in Bangkok, Thailand, Monday, March, 31, 2025. (AP Photo/Manish Swarup)
A rescuer looks for survivors at the site of an under-construction high-rise building that collapsed after an earthquake in Bangkok, Thailand, Monday, March, 31, 2025. (AP Photo/Wason Wanichakorn)
Rescuers walk past the ruin of a high-rise building under construction that collapsed after a strong earthquake in Bangkok, Thailand, Saturday, March 29, 2025. (AP Photo/Wason Wanichakorn)
Rescuers get ready for the day to work at the site of an under-construction high-rise building that collapsed after an earthquake in Bangkok, Thailand, Monday, March 31, 2025. (AP Photo/Manish Swarup)
Punyang, 28, right, from Cambodia, sits with her relatives who have come to look for their uncle, who was working in an under-construction high-rise building that collapsed in an earthquake, in Bangkok, Thailand, Monday, March, 31, 2025. (AP Photo/Manish Swarup)
Buaban Konkham, 55, left, talks on her mobile as she waits for news of her son, who is missing after an under-construction high-rise building collapsed in an earthquake in Bangkok, Thailand, Monday, March, 31, 2025. (AP Photo/Manish Swarup)
Naruemol Thonglek, top right, waits for news of her partner, sitting with other people looking for their relatives who were at the site where an under-construction high-rise building collapsed after an earthquake in Bangkok, Thailand, Monday, March, 31, 2025. (AP Photo/Manish Swarup)
Duria, who is searching for his relatives, talks on the phone after reading the sign board of number of people dead and missing after an under-construction high-rise building collapsed in an earthquake in Bangkok, Thailand, Monday, March, 31, 2025. (AP Photo/Manish Swarup)
Chanpen Keawnoi shows the photograph of her missing mother to a woman who is also looking for her relatives after an under-construction high-rise building collapsed after an earthquake in Bangkok, Thailand, Monday, March, 31, 2025. (AP Photo/Manish Swarup)
Chanpen Keawnoi waits to hear the news of her missing mother and sister who were in the under-construction high-rise building that collapsed after an earthquake in Bangkok, Thailand, Monday, March, 31, 2025. (AP Photo/Manish Swarup)
Naruemol Thonglek, right, with her daughter, waits for news of her partner, who is missing after the collapse of an under-construction high-rise building after an earthquake in Bangkok, Thailand, Monday, March, 31, 2025. (AP Photo/Manish Swarup)
