Bangkok: Deputy Governor Thawida Kamolvech has announced that compensation payments will commence on April 18, following the Ministry of Interior's decision to increase the compensation amount for the deceased to 100,000 baht.
According to Thai News Agency, Assoc. Prof. Thawida Kamolvech provided updates after a daily monitoring meeting regarding the building collapse at the Office of the Auditor General, which was caused by an earthquake. As of last night, the clearing of the building wreckage in zones A, B, C, and D was largely completed as planned. However, rescue efforts have been hindered by obstructing steel bars, necessitating the use of additional steel cutting machinery to facilitate an efficient search and demolition process. The wreckage currently stands at approximately 19 meters high, with a reported death toll of 44, 9 injured, and 50 individuals missing.
Identification efforts are ongoing, with 91 out of 103 individuals from a list provided by the Immigration Bureau accounted for, but some names remain untraced. Coordination with forensic officers is underway to locate these individuals, with additional identity data being collected in collaboration with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Myanmar Embassy.
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Interior has announced an increase in compensation for funeral arrangements to 100,000 baht per deceased individual, irrespective of their family role. The first batch of certified payments is scheduled for April 18 at the Ministry of Interior. The Bangkok Metropolitan Administration is expediting the process of retrieving bodies for identification to facilitate these payments.