23 dead, 71 missing in Bangkok high-rise collapse
A heartbreaking vigil continues in Bangkok, where the father of a 17 year old girl has stood outside a collapsed high-rise for nearly two weeks — still hoping for a miracle.
The death toll from the catastrophic collapse of a 30-storey building in Bangkok’s Chatuchak district has climbed to 23, with 71 people still unaccounted for, the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) confirmed today, April 10.
The tragedy occurred on March 28, when the under-construction State Audit Office (SAO) building on Kamphaeng Phet 2 Road came crashing down. The collapse was triggered by tremors from a powerful 8.2-magnitude earthquake near Mandalay, Myanmar, which sent shockwaves across the region.
Some 103 workers were caught in the disaster. According to BMA officials, nine people were injured, 23 confirmed dead, and a staggering 71 remain missing as search and rescue operations entered day 14.
In a gut-wrenching Facebook post, Dr Tosaporn Sererak, an MP from Phrae province and member of the ruling Pheu Thai Party, shared a photo of a father who has been holding a silent vigil at the site for 13 consecutive nights.
“This man travelled from Ubon Ratchathani province. He has shown up at the collapse site for 13 nights in a row, waiting for the latest updates regarding his 17 year old daughter, who was working in the building when it collapsed.”
According to the post, the girl had been working as a rubber harvester by day and attending night school to complete her middle school diploma.
“This was her first job in Bangkok, and the building collapsed on her first day at work,” Tosaporn added.
The man, a father of two, said he has a 12 year old son waiting at home. In Bangkok, he has been staying at a makeshift shelter near the disaster site, where volunteers have been providing meals and access to basic amenities, reported The Nation.
Rescue teams continue to search through the rubble, though hopes of finding survivors are fading. Heavy machinery and canine units have been deployed, but unstable debris and aftershocks have slowed progress.
As the country watches the tragedy unfold, this grieving father’s vigil has become a symbol of hope, heartbreak, and the human cost of disaster.
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