BANGKOK – A body and seven sets of human remains have been recovered from the rubble of a 30-storey government building that collapsed during a massive earthquake in March.
The under-construction State Audit Office building was reduced to an immense pile of rubble when a 7.7-magnitude quake struck neighbouring Myanmar on March 28, killing at least 44 people at the construction site.
Mr Suriyachai Rawiwan, director of the Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation, said on April 29 that the body and remains were found during a demolition operation on April 28.
“Among the findings were one intact body and two other major cases, along with smaller fragments accounting for around five separate cases,” he added.
He said the demolition in zones A and D has reached the first floor, with some sections extending down to the basement.
For zones B and C, which are adjacent to the carpark, machinery has been deployed to remove metal debris and clear a path to areas where more victims are believed to be trapped.
“One month has passed, and our personnel remain fully committed to the task,” said Mr Suriyachai.
One of the main challenges is dismantling zone D2, which adjoins zone C. Officials discovered large, mostly intact concrete slabs stacked approximately four to five layers deep, resembling a stack of pancakes.
Mr Suriyachai said this section must be addressed first, as the concrete slabs are obstructing the fire escape stairwell.
Officials plan to use two heavy-duty demolition machines equipped with impact hammers, along with a backhoe, to break through the debris.
“If we can clear this area during the day, we’ll be able to access more of the stairwell at night, which is expected to lead to the discovery of more victims in both zones B and C,” said Mr Suriyachai.
The Royal Thai Police’s Central Institute of Forensic Science on April 17 announced that 33 victims had been positively identified.
Of these, 22 were Thai nationals, 10 were from Myanmar, and one was Cambodian. THE NATION/ASIA NEWS NETWORK
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