On Sunday afternoon, the site of the collapse of the Board of Audit and Inspection's building near Chatuchak Market, a popular tourist attraction in Bangkok, the capital of Thailand, resembled a battlefield after a precision airstrike. The 33-story building was still under construction at the time and was the only one to collapse, while other buildings in the neighborhood appeared to be unharmed.
The collapse of the building in the aftermath of the 7.7-magnitude earthquake that struck Mandalay, Myanmar’s second-largest city, on Friday afternoon highlights the sheer power of the quake. The Thai government’s search operation was underway at the still-dusty site, utilizing unmanned aerial vehicles (drones), sniffer dogs, cranes, and excavators. At least eight of the more than 400 workers on-site were killed (bringing the total death toll from the quake to 17), and 83 people went missing. Foreign tourists passing by said they “didn't expect such a terrible thing to happen in Bangkok, a world-famous tourist destination.”
Myanmar-born construction worker Ko Min Cho, who was at the site when the earthquake struck, shuddered as he recalled the moment to the BBC. “I just jumped off the scaffolding on the third floor,” he said, "As soon as he hit the ground, he heard a loud ‘bang,’ and the building collapsed."
The situation is even worse in Myanmar, where the epicenter is located. Myanmar's military junta said in a statement on Saturday that the quake killed 1,644 people. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) said there is a 71 percent chance the death toll will exceed 10,000.
방콕=임현석 .lhs@donga.com