Thai search dogs go from sniffing to soothing at collapsed tower site

By Napat Wesshasartar and Thomas Suen

BANGKOK (Reuters) – Two rescue dogs in Thailand switched roles briefly on Wednesday to provide emotional support following five days spent sniffing for signs of life in a mountain of rubble left after a tower crumbled in last week’s earthquake.

To soothe the families of some of the 72 still missing, the two golden retrievers wearing orange vests met relatives in a temporary shelter.

Children patted their heads while others murmured softly to them, entrusting the canines with the task of carrying their hopes into the rubble when they resume their usual activity.

The brief interaction brought a small sense of comfort, said Chanpen Keawnoi, whose mother and younger sister are missing.

“They said as long as the dog keeps barking when they hear a signal, there’s still a chance someone could be alive,” she added.

The dogs performed their new task for a few hours while rescue teams waited for further instructions on the search.

Search and rescue efforts in Bangkok have stretched more than 100 hours, with 15 deaths and no survivors found by early on Wednesday.

When not engaged in rescue, search dogs can also be a source of comfort, said Susan Redmond, a senior K9 handler and lead training instructor.

“A dog has amazing powers, and touching a dog really gives some nice relief for people, so it’s good emotional support,” said Redmond, adding that the dogs were well-trained and could carry out dual roles.

The only building to completely crumble in the Thai capital, the 30-storey structure was under construction when Friday’s quake of magnitude 7.7 in neighbouring Myanmar brought it crashing down.

The fall took mere seconds, video taken by witnesses showed.

An anti-graft watchdog said it had flagged irregularities in the construction before the collapse and officials have said substandard steel was been found amid the wreckage.

Thailand has ordered safety inspections by owners of about 11,000 private high-rise buildings after the quake. Surveys of 3,375 government buildings nationwide found 34 with severe damage, authorities said on Wednesday.

(Reporting by Napat Wesshasartar and Thomas Suen; Additional reporting by Panarat Thepgumpanat; Editing by Martin Petty and Clarence Fernandez)

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