When a massive earthquake of magnitude more than 7 hit central Myanmar yesterday, tremors were felt all the way in Bangkok, shaking high-rise buildings and terrifying many in the city.
Amidst the chaos, one Malaysian man showed what true bravery looks like by rescuing an unknown father and his children.
Shaky situation turns heroic
The quake caused buildings in Bangkok to sway, and one of them was The Berkeley Hotel near Pratunam, where Malaysian entrepreneur Vinc Teh was staying for a shareholder meeting.
According to his Facebook post, he was on the 11th floor when the tremors hit. Panicked, he ran out, only to spot something that stopped him in his tracks.
Two small children, estimated to be around 2 and 4 years old, were crying and clinging to a rooftop pool that was shaking like a stormy sea.
I was going to hide under a table, but then I saw them screaming and swaying in the pool. I knew I had to act fast,” Vinc told Oriental Daily.
Just in time
Without thinking twice, Vinc rushed over and carried both kids out of the pool and to safety. Moments later, the glass wall surrounding the pool shattered due to the tremors, sending shards all over the floor.
The children’s father saw Vinc carrying his kids and immediately ran barefoot across the broken glass to reach them, cutting his feet in the process.
Hotel staff rushed to help and treated their injuries with a first-aid kit while waiting for an ambulance.
The dad didn’t even think twice. He just sprinted across all the glass, bleeding and all, just to get to his kids,” Vinc wrote in a Facebook post. “Father’s love is really powerful.”
A quick change of hotel
Photos and videos from Vinc show blood on the ground, shattered glass from the pool’s walls, and injured guests, including a young girl who was also hurt by the debris.
Vinc himself was cut on his legs by the glass too, but said he didn’t care about the pain in that moment, he just wanted to get everyone out.
When he finally made it to the ground floor, he saw dozens of people had gathered there, trying to make sense of the chaos. Water from rooftop infinity pools had overflowed due to the quake, adding to the eerie scene.
To make things worse, roads outside the hotel had visible cracks, and elevated roads were temporarily shut down. Even the hotel’s walls were covered in fractures.
Vinc decided it was too risky to stay the night and booked another hotel that was on a lower floor.
Read his post here:
WeirdKaya has reached out to Vinc for further comments and will follow up once there’s an update.
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