Witness captures Bangkok building collapse while driving on highway (2025)

Mar 31, 12:28 pm

Witness captures Bangkok building collapse while driving on highway

Jack Brown was driving on a highway in Bangkok and thought he had punctured a tire when his vehicle swerved a little bit.

"I parked the car in stationary and realized that the car was still moving around quite a lot and I immediately knew then it was an earthquake," Brown told ABC News Live.

Concerned about being on the elevated highway during the earthquake, he continued along and saw a building under construction collapse "in a matter of seconds." He captured the collapse on video from his car.

"It was just horrifying to see that destruction, knowing that there are very likely a lot of people in the site," he said.

At least eight people were killed in the collapse, as a search and rescue effort is underway for more than 100 who remain missing, police said.

Brown said he had never experienced anything like this in his 10 years of living in Bangkok.

"When you're in an earthquake, you don't know if you're at the beginning of it, the middle or the end. Are there going to be any other aftershocks or any other earthquakes following this one? Are they going to get worse?" he said. "There was concern, but it was unprecedented for me, I didn't really know what to expect or what to do, and I just wanted to sort of keep moving and get away from that zone."

8 dead in skyscraper collapse in Bangkok

At least eight people were killed and nine injured when a skyscraper that was under construction collapsed in Bangkok, according to the Royal Thai Police.

A search and rescue effort is continuing into the night for those who remain trapped, with more than 100 people still missing, police said

Officials said earlier there were approximately 320 construction workers on site when the building in Bangkok collapsed.

144 dead, more than 700 injured in Myanmar

At least 144 people have died in Myanmar, according to the first official death toll released by the military government.

Senior Gen. Min Aung Hlaing, who has led Myanmar since 2021, said 96 people have died in the Naypyidaw Council Territory, 18 in Sagaing and 30 in Kyaukse. There have also been at least 732 injuries in the country.

"Casualties are expected to rise," he said. "Buildings have collapsed in several areas, and rescue operations are underway. I have personally visited some affected sites to assess the situation. I would like to call upon everyone to join hands and support the ongoing rescue missions.

He said a state of emergency has been declared and he has requested international assistance, a rarity for the turbulent country.

Pope sends condolences

Pope Francis, recently released from the hospital following a battle with bilateral pneumonia, sent his condolences to those killed and injured in the earthquake.

"Deeply saddened by the loss of life and widespread devastation caused by the earthquake in Southeast Asia, especially in Myanmar and Thailand, his Holiness Pope Francis offers heartfelt prayers for the souls of the deceased and the assurance of his spiritual closeness to all affected by this tragedy," Cardinal Pietro Parolin said in a telegram.

"His holiness likewise prays that the emergency personnel will be sustained in their care of the injured and displaced by the divine gifts of fortitude and perseverance," it concluded.

-ABC News' Phoebe Natanson