Three days after a Bangkok skyscraper collapsed in the wake of a devastating earthquake in neighbouring Myanmar, Naruemol Thonglek is still praying that her boyfriend will emerge from the immense pile of rubble where the building once stood.
Electrician Kyi Than, the boyfriend of Naruemol, is among those missing under the enormous mound of concrete and twisted metal being lifted by mechanical diggers as part of the desperate search.
“I’m devastated… I’ve never seen anything like this in my entire life,” 45-year-old Naruemol told AFP from a small shelter near the site, where a group of around 50 relatives await news.
“I still pray that he is alive but if he is no longer alive then I hope that we can retrieve his body,” she said.
Among the missing are Thais, Laotians, Cambodians and Myanmar nationals.
Many relatives are choosing to sleep in the shelter, on camp beds or directly on the stone floor, and are reluctant to leave in case news emerges.