Worried families and rescue dogs bond during the long days of searching at Bangkok collapse

BANGKOK (AP) — For most of the day, somberness clouded over a makeshift shelter set up for grief-stricken relatives of dozens of workers who remain missing at the building collapse in Bangkok. They huddled together, a short distance from the rubble, awaiting news for their loved ones to be found.

But for a few minutes, their faces broke out in smiles, as a group of fluffy, playful golden retrievers approached the waiting relatives on a break from the dogs' rescue mission.

Bangkok is more than 800 miles (1,287 kilometers) from the epicenter of the magnitude 7.7 earthquake that struck Myanmar on Friday. Fifteen of the 22 deaths reported in Bangkok were people found at the site of the collapsed high-rise, according to the Bangkok city authorities. Around 70 workers remain missing.

Pornchai Chaodongbang has been waiting for her missing brother at the site since Sunday. She said she was crying every day since the news broke, and when she saw the site of the ruins, she collapsed.

On Tuesday evening, she and dozens of others were visited by Sahara, Safari and Lek, rescue dogs from K9 USAR Thailand, a non-profit that works closely with the Thai government in disaster and humanitarian relief efforts.

Pornchai’s face lit up as she played with them. She said her spirit was lifted a little. “I saw in the news that they were helping the crew up there. I felt a little happier,” she said.

It's the dogs' main job to climb the rubble, sniffing for any sign of humans trapped underneath. But Alongkot Chukaew, deputy director of the group, said they are also offering emotional support on the side, as his experience working with the dogs in many of their missions showed that they can give moments of comfort to disaster victims.

He saw that happened with Sahara during the rescue mission after the 2023 earthquake in Turkey.

“At times when people were feeling down, she walked over to relatives of the victims who were sitting among the rubble. I saw the children come to her, play with her. Amid those great losses, it’s a small moment of happiness that can lift their spirits. From that day on, it’s what we have been trying to do during our breaks,” he said.

They chose the dogs that are gentle to visit the relatives, he said. “I believe their gentleness is what gives a spirit to the relatives. It’s also like making a promise that they will be here with them until all the victims are found.”

Samran Khotchomphun said she has been waiting for her missing grandson and granddaughter since the first day of the collapse. She said she cried through the first three days because she couldn’t cope with the situation.

Samran said the dogs offered her a brief comfort and hope on day five of the search and rescue operations.

“I told the dogs, please help find them. My hope is hanging on you,” she said.

K9 named Lek, center, works as an emotional support with relatives of workers of a high-rise building under construction that collapsed after Friday's earthquake in Bangkok, Thailand, Tuesday, April 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit)

K9 named Lek, center, works as an emotional support with relatives of workers of a high-rise building under construction that collapsed after Friday's earthquake in Bangkok, Thailand, Tuesday, April 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit)

K9 named Lek works as an emotional support with relatives of workers of a high-rise building under construction that collapsed after Friday's earthquake in Bangkok, Thailand, Tuesday, April 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit)

K9 named Safari works as an emotional support with relatives of workers of a high-rise building under construction that collapsed after Friday's earthquake in Bangkok, Thailand, Tuesday, April 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit)

K9 named Safari works as an emotional support with relatives of workers of a high-rise building under construction that collapsed after Friday's earthquake in Bangkok, Thailand, Tuesday, April 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit)

A rescuer plays with his sniffer dog at 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 work with sniffer dogs at the site of an under-construction high-rise building that collapsed on Friday after an earthquake in Bangkok, Thailand, Saturday, March 29, 2025. (AP Photo/Manish Swarup)

Rescuers use sniffer dog at work at the site of an under-construction high-rise building that collapsed on Friday after an earthquake in Bangkok, Thailand, Sunday, March 30, 2025. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit)

K9 named Safari working as an emotional support with relatives of workers of a high-rise building under construction that collapsed in Bangkok, Thailand, Monday, March 31, 2025. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit)

K9 named Safari work as an emotional support with Relatives of workers of a high-rise building under construction that collapsed in Bangkok, Thailand, Monday, March 31, 2025, (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit)

Members of a K9 squad help Nuan wear socks to protect her feet at the site of an under-construction high-rise building that collapsed after an earthquake in Bangkok, Thailand, Tuesday, April 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit)

Members of a K9 squad help Nuan wear socks to protect her feet at the site of an under-construction high-rise building that collapsed after an earthquake in Bangkok, Thailand, Tuesday, April 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit)

K9 named Safari works as an emotional support with relatives of workers of a high-rise building under construction that collapsed in Bangkok, Thailand, Monday, March 31, 2025. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit)

K9 named Safari works as an emotional support with relatives of workers of a high-rise building under construction that collapsed in Bangkok, Thailand, Monday, March 31, 2025. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit)

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Iran has sent its response to the latest U.S. ceasefire proposal via Pakistani mediators and wants negotiations to focus on permanently ending the war, Iran’s state-run media said Sunday. Pakistan confirmed receiving it.

Iran seeks to end the war on all fronts, including in Lebanon, where Israel fights the Iranian-backed Hezbollah militant group, and to ensure the security of shipping, its state TV said. Washington’s latest proposal addressed a deal to end the war, reopen the Strait of Hormuz and roll back Iran’s nuclear program, an issue that Tehran would rather discuss later.

The White House had no immediate comment about Iran’s reply. President Donald Trump is giving diplomacy “every chance we possibly can before going back to hostilities,” the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, Mike Waltz, told ABC.

Iran's new supreme leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, who has not been seen or heard publicly since the war began, “issued new and decisive directives for the continuation of operations and the powerful confrontation with the enemies” while meeting with the head of the joint military command, the state broadcaster reported, with no details.

Meanwhile, the fragile ceasefire was tested when a drone ignited a small fire on a ship off Qatar and the United Arab Emirates and Kuwait reported drones entering their airspace. The UAE blamed Iran. No casualties were reported, and no one immediately claimed responsibility.

Qatar's Foreign Ministry called it a “dangerous and unacceptable escalation that threatens the security and safety of maritime trade routes and vital supplies in the region."

Iran and armed allied groups like Hezbollah in Lebanon have used drones to carry out hundreds of strikes since the war began with U.S. and Israeli attacks on Feb. 28.

Trump has reiterated threats to resume full-scale bombing if Iran does not accept an agreement to reopen the strait and roll back its nuclear program. Iran has largely blocked the strategic waterway that's key to the global flow of oil, natural gas and fertilizer since the war began, rattling world markets.

The U.S. in turn has blockaded Iranian ports and on Friday struck two Iranian oil tankers it said were trying to breach the blockade. Iran’s Revolutionary Guard navy says any attack on Iranian oil tankers or commercial vessels would be met with a “heavy assault” on one of the U.S. bases in the region and enemy ships.

The American military said Sunday that it has turned back 61 commercial vessels and disabled four since the blockade began April 13.

Another sticking point in negotiations is Iran’s highly enriched uranium. The U.N. nuclear agency says Iran has more than 440 kilograms (970 pounds) of uranium that is enriched up to 60% purity, a short, technical step from weapons-grade levels.

In an interview with state media posted late Saturday, an Iranian military spokesperson said its forces were on “full readiness” to protect nuclear sites where uranium is stored.

“We considered it possible that they might intend to steal it through infiltration operations or heli-borne operations,” Brig. Gen. Akrami Nia told the IRNA news agency.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in an excerpt of an interview with CBS scheduled to air later Sunday said the war isn't over because the enriched uranium needs to be taken out of Iran. “Trump has said to me, ‘I want to go in there,’ and I think it can be done physically,” he said.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said Saturday that Moscow’s proposal to take enriched uranium from Iran to help negotiate a settlement remains on the table.

The majority of Iran’s highly enriched uranium is likely at its Isfahan nuclear complex, the International Atomic Energy Agency director-general told The Associated Press last month. The facility was bombarded by U.S.-Israeli airstrikes in the 12-day war last year and faced less intense attacks this year.

Pakistan oversaw face-to-face talks between the U.S. and Iran last month and continues to pursue mediation. In rare public comments, army chief Field Marshal Asim Munir said Islamabad remains committed to helping end the conflict. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif spoke by phone with his Qatari counterpart.

The UAE's Defense Ministry said it shot down two drones and blamed Iran.

In Kuwait, Defense Ministry spokesperson Brig. Gen. Saud Abdulaziz Al Otaibi said hostile drones entered Kuwait’s airspace and forces responded “in accordance with established procedures.” The ministry did not say where the drones came from.

Qatar's Defense Ministry said a drone targeted a commercial ship coming from Abu Dhabi, setting a small fire that was extinguished. The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations Center said the attack happened 23 nautical miles (43 kilometers) northeast of the capital, Doha. It gave no details about the ship’s owner or origin, and there was no claim of responsibility.

Several attacks against ships in the Persian Gulf have occurred over the past week, and a U.S. effort to “guide” ships through the strait was soon paused.

South Korea announced initial findings from a investigation that said two unidentified airborne objects struck the South Korean-operated vessel HMM NAMU about one minute apart while it was anchored in the Strait of Hormuz last week, causing an explosion and fire. A foreign ministry spokesperson said officials have yet to determine who was responsible.

Magdy reported from Cairo. Associated Press writers Munir Ahmed in Islamabad; Melanie Lidman in Tel Aviv, Israel; Tong-hyung Kim in Seoul; Julia Frankel in Jerusalem; and Josh Boak in Washington contributed to this report.

Container ships sit at anchor in the Strait of Hormuz off Bandar Abbas, Iran, Saturday, May 2, 2026.(Amirhosein Khorgooi/ISNA via AP)