Local YouTuber Tan Jianhao and his family were in Bangkok on March 28 when a massive earthquake hit neighbouring Myanmar, sending tremors through Thailand as well.
In an Instagram post recounting his ordeal, the 31-year-old entrepreneur can be seen walking down the staircase of the high-rise hotel he was staying at, with his five-year-old daughter Starley in his arms. In the video, cracks can be seen on the walls along the stairwell with paint peeling off.
Jianhao wrote: “Experiencing a 7.7 magnitude earthquake for the first time and carrying my daughter down 21 storeys of [an] emergency staircase was not on my bucket list.”
He added that people “were screaming” as they ran down the stairs in a bid to escape the building.
After the family exited the hotel, a staff member can also be seen using a megaphone as employees and guests assemble on the pavement outside.
“Thankfully we are safe and a big thank you to the Kimpton Maa-Lai Bangkok for handling everything so well,” he added.
Another video which Jianhao posted following the ordeal showed the family sitting inside a vehicle after the evacuation.
Recounting her experience, Starley shared that the lamp “[was] slanted” and that the family “just ran down” when the building started shaking.
She also described how the tremors caused water from the hotel’s pool to spill over, with the young girl likening it to a flood.
Jianhao’s Instagram post was met with well wishes from fellow content creators as well as celebrities, including Rebecca Lim, Bobby Tonelli and Dione Tan.
“Poor baby, she looks so scared,” wrote DJ and content creator Jade Rasif.
According to The Wall Street Journal, the death toll from the earthquake has surpassed 2,000 in Myanmar. 18 have died in Thailand, with search and rescue efforts ongoing for 76 people trapped under the debris of a collapsed Bangkok building.
The Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) has sent a contingent of 80 and four canines to aid search-and-rescue efforts in Myanmar.
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drimac@asiaone.com
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