Quake tales from Calcuttans in Bangkok; panic & chaos after the natural calamity
Telegraph | 30 March 2025
Sanjay Chaubey and his wife Sulochana were walking on a bridge in Bangkok’s Pratunam on Friday afternoon when it started to shake.
Initially, Sulochana thought she was unwell and asked her husband to take her to a hospital. But then, Chaubey saw the glass wall of a high-rise swimming pool crack and water gush out. He knew it was an earthquake.
Gautam Gurbani had gone to Pattaya, a two-hour drive from Bangkok, where he heard about the earthquake.
The hospital where his wife had gone for a check-up was evacuated. His seven-year-old daughter was stuck in her school. He rushed back to Bangkok and headed for his daughter’s school.
Several Calcuttans, now in Bangkok, were caught in the devastating earthquake, like thousands of others in the Thai capital.
“We were in the Pratunam area and came out of Platinum Mall around 1.25pm local time and went to the walking bridge that connects to Big Sea, another mall,” Chaubey told Metro from Bangkok.
A businessman from Alipore, Chaubey has been staying in a service apartment at Sukhumvit Soi 20 for the past three weeks for work.
“My wife, Sulochana, started feeling dizzy and said she needed to be taken to a hospital. I saw the glass wall of a rooftop swimming pool getting shattered and the water falling like a stream. I realised it was an earthquake,” he said.
The couple walked nearly 4km back to their apartment because neither trains nor any vehicles were moving.
“The sky train and the underground train were stalled. There was a severe traffic jam on the road and nothing was moving. There was panic all around,” said Chaubey. “All high-rises were evacuated and government agencies were assessing the damage. There was chaos everywhere.”
The traffic snarl continued even in the evening, Chaubey said.
“My building is not affected. But we are in a state of panic,” he said.
Gurbani, who is from Bhowanipore and now runs a travel agency in Bangkok, went to Pattaya, around 120km from Bangkok, on Friday morning.
“Nothing happened in Pattaya. I heard about the devastation in Bangkok and was worried about my wife and daughter,” said Gurbani.
His wife Natthanicha had gone to a hospital for a check-up. “Everyone was brought to the ground floor. My wife was allowed to leave,” he said.
“My wife got stuck in traffic. My only concern was to reach my daughter’s school,” said Gurbani. His daughter Nanthakanok studies in Class II.
“The students were evacuated and those whose parents were getting delayed were taken to the school’s playground. My wife was stuck for five hours on the road, caught in the traffic snarl,” he said.
The family’s house was not affected, but Gurbani’s office on a high-rise had to be evacuated. “All my staff are safe,” he said.
Tour operators said they were getting calls from tourists in Calcutta who had booked holidays in Thailand.
“There is concern among tourists, and many are thinking of cancelling. We are talking to airlines and hotels in Thailand,” said Anil Punjabi, national committee member of the Travel Agents Federation representing the east.
Calcutta airport officials said no flights to Thailand from the city were cancelled till Friday afternoon.
“In light of the recent earthquake in Southeast Asia, IndiGo would like to reassure its customers that all flights to and from Thailand (Bangkok, Krabi, Phuket) are operating as scheduled. We understand that some of our customers may have faced difficulties reaching the airport due to this situation. To support those affected, we are accommodating them on the next available flight. We remain committed to assisting our customers during this time,” IndiGo said in a statement.