Search for those missing among the debris of the collapsed State Audit Office (SAO) building officially ends, after no further human remains have been found, according to Suriyachai Rawiwan, chief of the Public Disaster Prevention and Mitigation Department of the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA).
Altogether 109 people were reported missing after the building collapsed on March 28th, after a devastating earthquake hit Myanmar. 89 people are confirmed to have died, nine were injured but survived and seven are still unaccounted for.
Suriyachai said today that no further remains have been found, despite the improved access to areas within the debris, adding that the seven people still missing might have been crushed beyond recognition by the colossal forces involved in the collapse of such a large structure.
There are still some bones at the Institute of Forensic Medicine which are yet to be identified through DNA comparison with samples collected from relatives.
The next step is to try to recover any smaller fragments of human remains from among the debris, with the help of five cadaver dogs, which will continue working at the site for the next few days at least.
According to Suriyachai, the BMA is scheduled to hand the site back to the State Audit Office next Thursday, signalling the official end of its gruelling search for those who survived and those who, tragically, did not.
