SAO building collapse: tales of heroism, tragedy and hope

Keeping vigil for the boss

A Khon Kaen electrician who survived the State Audit Office building collapse can thank his bosses, a husband and wife couple who were on the 27th floor, for his good fortune.

Phiraphon "Pao" Mowiang, 30, said the couple sent him and their daughter Araya, 22, who also worked with them, down to the ground floor on an errand just before the building collapsed.

They asked him to fetch a water jug, and Araya, who also survived, to fetch some tools.

They were about to take them back up in the lift when they heard cement cracking from the rear of the building as it started to fall.

Mr Phiraphon and his employers' daughter were among the lucky workers able to flee from the structure as it came down. Many did not, and are still trapped beneath the rubble.

He said the clouds of dust thrown up as they ran for their lives made it hard to breathe. The fleeing workers also had to beat down a corrugated fence which threatened to block their escape.

His bosses are Damrong Phonglunhit, 40, and Ornuma Kaenmuang, 36, both from Chum Phae district in Khon Kaen.

Ornuma's body was found in the rubble on Tuesday and the body taken back to Chum Phae for the funeral on Friday.

Her husband, Damrong, is still missing, as is their son-in-law, Jetsada "Fas" Sonchai, 21, who was Araya's partner and also part of their work team.

Mr Damrong and Ornuma hired Mr Phiraphon to do electrical wiring at the SAO building after earlier working with him in Khon Kaen. He respects them for giving him his first big start in Bangkok.

Back in Khon Kaen, it was to be three days before Mr Phiraphon's anxious parents heard from him following his miraculous escape.

His father Seng Mowiang, 62, the village headman, and his mother, Phawana, 56, learned the shocking news about the earthquake on the afternoon of March 28. They tried to contact their son but were unable to reach him.

Later they learned the mother of Mr Jetsada, the son-in-law of Mr Phiraphon's bosses, had gone to the site to await news.

Mr Phiraphon's parents contacted her and left their phone number in case their son was found.

Finally, around noon on April 1, their son borrowed her phone to call them. He had left his own phone elsewhere on the day of the tragedy and forgotten his parents' number. Needless to say, they were overjoyed to hear his voice.

A keen judge of timing, perhaps, Mr Phiraphon asked his Dad for some money, which he promised to send later that day.

Mr Seng said Mr Phiraphon was their only child. As he grew up, he worked various jobs and would return home to visit his parents infrequently.

Mr Phiraphon, who was keeping vigil at the disaster site mid-week before Ornuma's body was found, said he still hoped to see Mr Damrong and Mr Jetsada alive.

Later in the week he travelled back to Khon Kaen's Chum Phae district for Ornuma's funeral at Wat Phothat.

He ordained as a monk to make merit for his employers. Her daughter Araya, along with Mr Jetsada's granddad and younger sister -- still waiting for news of the young man -- were also among the mourners.

Earlier, Mr Phiraphon's mother, Mrs Phawana, said he prayed at the local temple that her son would be safe. She vowed before the gods that if he returned home safely, she would have him ordained as a monk for seven days.

Worker goes back to help friend

A young electrician from Udon Thani fled the State Audit Office building as it was collapsing, along with his girlfriend.

However, he made a fateful decision to go back and assist a co-worker who was calling for help.

Anekpong "Ta" Kongsaiya, 23, was on the seventh floor of the ill-fated building and his girlfriend of three years, Nicha Harprom, also 23, on the floor above when the building started to shake.

They managed to escape, but when a woman co-worker fell and called for help, Mr Anekpong ran back to help, just as the building collapsed. Ms Nicha made it out safely, but his fate is unknown.

The pair had been working at the building for just one day, after initially planning to take work in Chanthaburi but later changing their plans.

Rescue workers have yet to find Mr Anekpong, but his mother, Songkran, 59, from Kud Jab district, still holds out hope they will be reunited.

Mr Anekpong had planned to return home with his girlfriend during Songkran, where he was to introduce Ms Nicha to his parents for an engagement ceremony.

They had arranged for a traditional ceremony for April 16, with 20,000 baht set aside for the occasion.

Ms Nicha said the couple met through Facebook, and they had been dating for three years while working together in Bangkok.

Mr Anekpong, the youngest of three children, was known for his helpful nature and volunteer spirit, news reports said.

His father and elder brother had travelled to Bangkok to await news. His father had also visited the Police General Hospital's forensic institute to give his DNA in the event rescue workers find a body which might be his son's.

Seksan Jumphol, district chief of Kud Jab, visited the family to offer support and praised Mr Anekpong's bravery. His mother said she called her son after the earthquake, initially not thinking he would be at the collapsed building, believing he was working in Chanthaburi.

She was shocked to hear he was among the missing, and is now praying for her son's safety. "Please let him be safe and alive, and return home to me, as I am still waiting. I have no other means left; I just want my son to be safe," she said.

Power of the amulet

A Khon Kaen man is praying for the safe return of his son, missing in the State Audit Office building collapse, as a belated birthday present to himself.

Speaking from his home in Nam Phong district, Chai Laopheng, 70, says his son Kwanchai, 35, started work as an electrician just a week before the March 28 earthquake which triggered the 30-storey structure's collapse.

Among those trapped or missing amid the rubble were his son and two friends who travelled with him to Bangkok to take up the work. "A couple from the local community invited him to work at the SAO building. He decided to go to the capital with his friends," he told reporters last week.

His daughter, Nong Nam, who runs a business in Bangkok, has been following the search and recovery efforts but said they had yet to find her brother's body, he said. Nong Nam said the search team had detected heartbeat signals from under the rubble, which gave him hope his son could still be found. A believer in miracles, he said his son may have survived but is trapped beneath the ruins.

An attentive son who regularly sent home money to support his family, Kwanchai planned to visit his family in Khon Kaen during the upcoming Songkran festival. "My son is a good person and mainstay of the family. Whenever he leaves home for work, he wears an amulet and coin around his neck for good luck.

"I believe the power of the divine will protect my son, allowing him to return home as a belated birthday gift for my 70th birthday," he added. Mr Chai turned 70 on April 1.