Heavy machines are increasingly being used to excavate the rubble of the collapsed State Audit Office building and rescuers are likely to find more bodies as no further signs of life have been detected, Bangkok governor Chadchart Sittipunt said on Sunday.
With chances of finding more survivors faded, heavy machines are operating at full speed to remove the top of the rubble pile and dig holes into its sides to reach areas where bodies are likely to be located, the governor said.
The top layer of rubble would be removed gradually for the safety of rescuers at the site of the collapsed new State Audit Office building in Chatuchak district, Bangkok.
When the top part is secured, heavy machines would dig into the sides of the rubble mountain to reach what used to be the stairways, passages and halls that construction workers used to enter the 30-storey building before it fell.
More body parts found
During the Myanmar earthquake on March 28 which shook the State Audit tower, construction personnel were likely trying to escape the high-rise through the passages, Mr Chadchart said.
Two bodies were found in passages on Saturday and body parts were spotted on Sunday morning, he said.
Whenever excavators reached a hole under the rubble, they would pave the way for rescuers and sniffer dogs to find more victims, the Bangkok governor said. He admitted the chance of still finding survivors was negligible.
“The situation improved as we began to remove unstable areas and gained better access. We expect to find more missing persons. However, realistically, the chances of survival are diminishing, and the number of fatalities is likely to increase,” the Bangkok governor said.
As of 6pm on Sunday, 18 people were confirmed dead, 76 others were missing and nine had been rescued at the collapse site.
Suriyachai Rawiwan, disaster mitigation director of City Hall, said drones were used to look for victims while excavators were operated.
Deputy Bangkok governor Tavida Kamolvej said that the removal of the rubble at the new State Audit Office would take about a month.
