Pluem, 18, had been working for just one month at a construction site in Bangkok’s Chatuchak district. It was her first job since leaving her family home. “She found the work because she wanted to live on her own,” said her mother, Wanpetch Punta, 38.
She was hired as an electrician on the 30-storey construction, which was soon to become a new office block for the city’s auditor general.
On Friday, when tremors from the earthquake in neighbouring Myanmar reached the Thai capital, the entire block collapsed in an instant. Eleven people have been confirmed dead in the disaster. Rescue workers are frantically searching for 78 people still missing.
Families, including Pluem’s, sit on mats and plastic chairs nearby, clasping phones and waiting desperately for news. A perimeter of metal fencing has been set up to cordon off the search and rescue efforts, but it is not tall enough to mask the towering heap of concrete slabs and twisted metal bars. The floor is covered in dust. Every so often, a boom sounds out as debris is tipped away.
Wanpetch has been here since 5am on Saturday morning, waiting. She follows social media for news, and goes back and forth to a nearby tent, to check for updates on the list of bodies rescued or recovered.
Pluem, fun and patient, is loved by everyone, she said. “I must have hope.”
Rescue workers have deployed search dogs and thermal imaging drones to search for signs of life. Several countries, including the US, China and Israel, have sent equipment and expert teams to assist in the search. Officials from Bangkok metropolitan administration said signs of life had been detected in one area of the site early on Sunday morning.
Many of the people missing are migrant workers from neighbouring Myanmar and Cambodia.
Nai Talee, 19, came to Thailand two years ago after fleeing the conditions in his home country, Myanmar, which has been gripped by conflict since 2021 when the military seized power in a coup.
“He found work and he is very good at saving money, very hard working,” said Simma, 26, his aunt. He would send money back home to his father and grandmother, and put some towards his savings.
The family home in Myanmar survived the earthquake.
Nai Talee was working on the 26th floor, according to colleagues who managed to escape.
Simma’s husband, Komyo, 38, who waits with her at the rescue site, last spoke to his nephew at lunchtime on Friday, just before the earthquake struck. He was happy as usual, and had been napping during his break. For the past two days, Simma has tried to call his phone again and again. It used to ring out, but now is switched off.
They are sitting with a friend, also from Myanmar. She is seven months pregnant. Her husband is among the missing.
Across from them is Sophorn Chhay, 42, from Cambodia. Her eldest son, Ratana Phalla, 25, is missing. He was working as an electrician at the site. The last time they spoke he had told her that when he finished his contract on 10 April he would come to stay with her. He had told her he needed to earn money first, she said.
All families can do is wait, follow news updates on their phones, and watch to see if bodies are carried out.
Bangkok authorities said on Sunday evening they “remained hopeful” and would intensify their work around the clock. The Thai government has ordered an investigation into why the office collapsed.
Wanpetch said she was trying to force herself to keep eating. Sometimes she could sleep a little, sometimes she could not. “I want them to speed up their work. I want to know the result. I don’t know what else I can do,” she said.
