Bangkok: Search for victims of collapsed building continues, no additional people found trapped in Zone B after lights were found, while DSI invited China Railway Number 10 Company to observe the collection of additional evidence.

According to Thai News Agency, since midnight until now, all officials, especially rescue workers, are still trying to quickly dismantle the debris at the scene of the State Audit Office building collapse. Rescue volunteers and K9 dogs have walked up to explore the cavity above the Zone B area after finding a suspicious spot with lights indicating that there were people trapped inside the building’s debris. They have dug, cut, and drilled their way through to reach the spot where the lights were found. However, the difficulty is when they enter and encounter large cement blocks, which means the rescue team cannot reach the coordinates where the lights were found and has not found anyone trapped.

While searching in other zones, 2 more bodies of victims were found in Zone C, so a crane was used to lift the bodies down and wait for further identification. The unofficially found parts of the victims were sent to the Police General Hospital’s Institute of Forensic Medicine for identification. This brings the latest death toll to 32, with 9 injured and 62 still being searched for.

This morning, officers from the Police Forensic Science Division, the Department of Special Investigation, and the Department of Public Works and Town and Country Planning went to the area where the collapsed building was located in front to collect evidence from the construction site. The Superintendent of Bang Sue Police Station coordinated with China Railway Number 10 Company, a business partner of the contractor for the construction of the Office of the Auditor General’s Office building, to send 2-3 representatives to observe the scene. The Department of Public Works and Town and Country Planning will inspect the concrete, and will have special technicians help drill through the concrete slabs and assist in collecting evidence. Each day, officers will collect evidence from 5:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m. and will not interfere with the work of the officers on the construction site.

Mr. Suriyachai Rawiwan, Director of the Bangkok Disaster Prevention and Mitigation Office, revealed the progress of the search in Zone B where the telephone light was found. Since yesterday until this morning, officials have dug until they opened the work site, approximately 4 meters deep and 4 meters wide, reaching the base of the building. However, they found obstacles such as a large 4×6 concrete slab weighing approximately 10 tons blocking the way and many steel bars. Therefore, they had to meet again to search because they were concerned for the safety of the officials who were working. He also confirmed that no vital signs or responses to the knocking signal were found from anyone. The radar camera did not find any vital signs or movement. Only the rescue team reported and showed a clip of the discovery.