Heavy machinery was used last night to dig three more access channels through the debris of the collapsed SAO building, in the latest attempt to reach any survivors and remains trapped under tonnes of rubble.
The search operations were suspended at 4.40am, after workers were unable to punch through a huge concrete slab and a web of tangled rebar to reach a location where signs of human presence were detected. No survivors or human remains were found.
Search and rescue teams from the Ruam Katanyu and Por Teck Toeng foundations, as well as the Urban Search and Rescue team, met this morning to discuss recent search operations and to plan their next moves.
An informed source said that, from now on, only the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration will provide updates on the search and rescue situation to the media, to prevent conflicting reports being made public.
79 people are still unaccounted for and are believed to be buried under the rubble. Fifteen people have, so far, been confirmed dead.
Two bodies, reported to have been found in zone B, are yet to be recovered, because they are trapped under a heavy concrete slab.
Bangkok Governor Chadchart Sittipunt was at the site throughout last night, to observe the search operations and to offer moral support to workers and officials.
