Bangkok: On the 12th day of the operation to salvage the collapsed Office of the Auditor General building, officials continued to use heavy machinery to clear the area, especially the fire escape, which is believed to be the area where many people were trapped.

According to Thai News Agency, the search operation for the bodies of workers trapped under the collapsed Office of the Auditor General building due to the earthquake saw 4 workers removed from the building today, bringing the number of workers whose bodies have been found to 21, with 73 still missing. Despite the Songkran festival resulting in various agencies closing, officials will continue to search for the missing.

Since this morning, a backhoe with a drilling head has been climbing up the pile of the Office of the Auditor General’s Department building debris to break up the concrete blocks in the upper part of the building debris. The steel frame left behind will be compressed into smaller pieces for easier transport from the work site.

Assoc. Prof. Thawida Kamolvej, Deputy Governor of Bangkok, mentioned that experts and on-site staff assessed and agreed to use the area of Zone A and Zone D as a base by compacting the ground for a backhoe to climb up. The fire escape shafts, covered during the earthquake, are expected to contain many trapped workers since many were working between the 20th and 30th floors at the time of the incident.

It was reported that during the Songkran holiday next week, officials will not pause their search for people trapped under the building rubble. A 1,000-ton crane has been brought into the area to reinforce the operation. The Department of Special Investigation (DSI) has accepted the case for prosecution against those involved.

Pol. Lt. Col. Woranan Srilam, Director of the Consumer Protection Case Division, visited the scene and held a sub-meeting at the Joint Command Center with various agencies to focus on nominee shareholding, unfair price competition, and compliance of building construction materials with industry standards.

The offenses relate to the Foreign Business Act, the Industrial Product Standards Act, and the Act on Offenses Relating to Bidding to Government Agencies.

Continuing from last night, the search team retrieved the bodies of 4 dead workers, bringing the total number to 21, with 73 still missing. Mr. Chadchart Sittipunt, the Governor of Bangkok, visited the site to follow up on the progress and observe the demolition. The BMA will continue demolition and search efforts during the Songkran holidays without stopping, adhering to international standards.