Rescuers heard soft calls for help and responding knocks from beneath the rubble of the collapsed State Audit Office site in Chatuchak district of Bangkok late Wednesday night, according to Bangkok governor Chadchart Sittipunt.
“At about 10pm, rescuers reached a hole and shouted out for survivors. They heard soft responses calling for help. The voice seemed to be a woman’s,” Mr Chadchart said on Thursday morning.
“To make sure it was a survivor, rescuers asked for three knocks and there were three knocks in response. There is hope there are survivors at fire exits.”
Rescuers then stopped using heavy machinery at the location in order to reduce the risk of the rubble shifting.
News of the voice and the knocks spread quickly through the crowd of relatives of missing people waiting near the collapse site. Many stayed awake all Wednesday night, hoping for more signs.
Mr Chadchart said rescuers used scanning devices to search for survivors and they saw signs of bodies. Three thick concrete slabs were blocking rescuers’ way to survivors, he said.
“They were cut and then removed by cranes all night long. At 6.30 this morning, three slabs weighing about 60 tonnes were removed. Rescuers will start to dig with their bare hands. The depth is likely three metres but it is full of steel,” he said.
“I want to thank the teams of volunteers including foreign ones who have worked all night long tirelessly,” he added.
On Thursday evening, Suriyachai Rawiwan, the City Hall's director for disaster prevention and mitigation, said rescuers dug more than two metres deep but did not hear any response like they had on Wednesday night and Thursday morning.
The collapse of the 30-storey headquarters of the State Audit Office occurred on the afternoon of March 28 during the huge Myanmar earthquake.
Eighty-one people are believed to be still missing at the site. Fifteen people have been confirmed dead there, while seven other fatalities have been related to the impact of the powerful quake in Thailand. A total of 35 people were injured and 11 remain in hospital, according to the Erawan Center.
Rescue workers call out to possible survivors after hearing a voice from under the rubble. (video from the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration)
