A Cambodian migrant worker from Malai district in Banteay Meanchey province has been confirmed dead in Friday’s earthquake with several other Cambodians believed to be still trapped under the rubble of a 30-storey building.
Cambodia’s Ministry of Labor and Vocational Training issued a statement this afternoon regarding the death of 23-year-old Meas Savang in Bangkok, and that his body will be repatriated to his hometown.
A powerful 7.7 magnitude earthquake in central Myanmar resulted in deaths and heavy damage in the country and neighbouring Thailand. In Myanmar, the death toll rose to 1,700 while 3,400 were injured and over 300 people missing as of March 30, according to Reuters.
In Thailand, 17 people were confirmed dead and 32 injured in a partially constructed building, which was to be the State Audit Office, that collapsed when the earthquake struck. Another 77 are still missing at the former 30-storey building site, Thai media outlet reported.
Construction worker Soeun Samnang, 44, who was injured in another building which also was damaged during the earthquake in Bangkok, told CamboJA News that she had only been working in Thailand for about two weeks.
She was on the 16th floor when the earthquake happened. As it started to shake, she rushed down the stairs but fell. In a desperate attempt to escape, she held onto her relatives before the building crumbled. She suffered a broken leg and a fractured jaw.
Samnang, who is from Kampong Thom, traveled to Thailand with her husband and 20-year-old son but they were not injured. She mentioned that there were many other Cambodian workers in the building, although she was not sure of the number. She believes that many are still trapped in the rubble.
To date, she has not received any support from her employer, the Cambodian embassy in Thailand or the government following the incident, she alleged.
“I came back [to Cambodia] because my leg is in pain and I have no money,” Samnang said. “I went to a hospital in Thailand but didn’t know how to pay for the medical expenses. My relatives in Cambodia raised money and borrowed from private lenders to send to me, which enabled me to pay and leave the hospital.”
But Samnang now faces mounting debt.
“I owe money to [private lenders], and I don’t know how I’ll repay them. I had hoped to work in Thailand to earn enough, but just a few weeks after arriving, disaster hit,” she said. “I borrowed money to go to Thailand, borrowed again to cover hospital expenses and one more time when I returned,” she said.
Although she has asked the Cambodian government for support, so far, she has not received any assistance.
In a video conference at a special emergency meeting of ASEAN foreign ministers on Sunday, Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Minister Prak Sokhonn expressed his “deepest condolences” on behalf of Cambodia to the governments of Myanmar and Thailand and their people for the loss of lives, injured, and extensive destruction due to the earthquake. Back in Cambodia, only minor tremors were felt.
In the days after, Cambodia pledged $100,000 in initial emergency assistance to Myanmar, and are working to provide medical, and other essential supplies.
Thailand-based project officer Leung Sophon of Cambodian labor rights group CENTRAL said 17 bodies have been recovered from the collapsed site.
Based on information from relatives of Cambodian workers, there are about 10 Cambodian workers missing on that site. “It’s not yet known whether they are alive or dead,” he said.
Although rescue efforts are ongoing, Thai authorities have yet to even clear 50% of the rubble as the workers from Thailand, Myanmar and Cambodia wait anxiously for some news about their missing relative or colleague.
Water Resource and Meteorology Ministry spokesperson Oeurng Chantha, said minister Thor Chetha has led a team of experts to assess the feasibility of installing signs or monitoring vibrations at ground level.
“We do not have an early warning system [for earthquakes], so His Excellency [Thor Chetha] instructed the technical team to conduct research and establish mechanisms for future monitoring,” Chantha said. “The ministry is currently studying this matter.”
He added that Cambodia has not experienced major tremors from earthquakes in the last 50 years as the terrain is not subject to seismic activity, despite there being earthquakes in neighboring countries. Cambodia only experienced minor tremors.
Cambodia’s National Committee for Disaster Management spokesperson Soth Kimkolmony did not respond to requests for comment via phone or Telegram.
An officer with the Board of Engineers Cambodia did not respond at the time of publication on technical issues relating to high-rise buildings here.
Land Management, Urban Planning and Construction Ministry spokesperson Seng Lot did not respond.
