BANGKOK: The basement and surrounding area of the collapsed State Audit Office (SAO) building have been cleared, while officials continue the search for 13 missing individuals.
The search for trapped victims at the collapse site of the SAO building in Bangkok’s Chatuchak district progressed significantly on Tuesday (May 6), according to Suriyachai Rawiwan, Director of the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA)’s Disaster Prevention and Mitigation Office.
He reported that no additional survivors or victims had been found during the search from last night through Tuesday morning.
However, rescue teams have now fully cleared the concrete floor of the basement and surrounding area, covering approximately 40×40 metres.
“What remains is the collapsed section adjacent to parking zone B, which is about 3 metres tall and 15–20 metres wide,” he said. “Clearing this remaining debris is expected to take another 2–3 days.”
Meanwhile, officials plan to conduct DNA testing on 280 human body parts stored at the Police General Hospital’s Forensic Institute.
These will be compared against the list of the 13 missing persons. If all identities cannot be confirmed, authorities may need to reassess the total number of missing individuals, Suriyachai added.
The under-construction 30-storey building on Kamphaeng Phet 2 Road collapsed on March 28 following an 8.2-magnitude earthquake near Mandalay, Myanmar, trapping more than a hundred workers inside.
As of Tuesday, the BMA has reported a total of 109 victims from the incident. Of these, 87 have been confirmed dead, nine were injured, and 13 remain missing. - The Nation/ANN
