More heavy machinery is being sent to the site of the collapsed State Audit Office (SAO) building today, to speed up the clearing of about 40,000 tonnes of debris from the site, while the search for survivors continues, Bangkok Governor Chadchart Sittipunt told a news conference Friday morning.
He quoted experts as saying that it will take 30-60 days to clear the site of the debris, noting that this must be done with caution, because there may still be some survivors buried under the rubble.
The governor said that search and rescue teams have succeeded in accessing most of the cavities in the debris, but have not found any survivors.
Rescue officials said that, throughout last night, workers used heavy machinery to cut concrete blocks and tangled rebar in zones C and D, after the search of zone B was suspended because rescuers could not enter a cavity covered by a huge concrete block. They added that no signs of life had been detected at this location.
Anyawut Phoampai, deputy chief of the public relations office of the Ruam Katanyu Foundation, said that workers have already hauled away many tonnes of debris. He added that no survivors or any more bodies have been found since yesterday.
The number of missing people has been adjusted to 79, he said.
