Thousands of people may have died after the earthquake in Southeast Asia on Friday and from Thailand’s capital Bangkok, dramatic images have spread when a skyscraper collapsed.
Tharit Monsereenusor, Volunteer, tells TV4 News that the rescue work is in full swing in Bangkok after the race. He says that similar scenes he sees now, he has only seen in documentaries from the rescue efforts after the twin towers in New York collapsed on September 11.
– The rescue work is similar in the masses after 9/11, with search dogs looking for unconscious people. We have found a survivor and four dead, Tharit Monsereenus, Volunteer, told TV4 News.
In the skyscraper, about 120 people are estimated to have been when it collapsed and most are not found yet.
– There are hundreds of people but in there, whose condition is unknown. Right now we have drones who operate in the area and assist us in our search work, says Tharit Monserenusor.
“The whole ground began to spin like a table top”
It has now become evening and darkened in Bangkok while the rescue work continues in the Swedish tourist paradise. One of many Swedes who are in the Thai capital is Michael Karlsson from Gothenburg. He testifies to the earthquake for TV4 News.
– It was around 12 o’clock, we sat and ate on the main street Sukhumvit, which is one of the world’s longest street, there are always a lot of people. The whole ground began to spin like a table top, what is the question of? I thought, Michael Karlsson tells TV4 News.
He heard people screaming and saw people flee from shops and bars on the street.
– Then everyone looked upwards, and then we see a building where the pool had collapsed and the water rushed out. I don’t know if there were people lying in the pool, because in that case they went out. There were huge amounts of water, says Michael Karlsson.
People sleep outside – afraid of buildings to rage
After that, everyone fled out on the street, shops and hotels closed. There was a stop in car traffic and Michael thinks that it was not possible to move.
– People do not dare to go in even though authorities say it is safe, everyone is terrified and shocked. They closed the hotel I live on, everyone is sitting in the streets, people are terrified.
He says that he went up to his hotel room when they got the clear sign to go in again, but that he felt “terrified” and insecure when he lay in bed. There are many who dare not go in and have settled in different parks to sleep, he says.
– If I had had any enemies, I would never have liked that person here. People are cracked. I don’t want to stay here because I’m literally terrified. I will need to meet a psychologist or psychotherapist. I have experienced a lot in my life, I have had the worst form of cancer, but this was terrible, says Michael Karlsson.