Bangkok: Entering the 8th day after the earthquake, officials continue to work continuously to help those affected by the collapse of the State Audit Office building. Meanwhile, vendors at JJ Mall, which is opposite the scene of the incident, admit that today's atmosphere is quiet, even though it is a holiday.
According to Thai News Agency, backhoes and heavy machinery resumed their mission to dismantle the debris of the Office of the Auditor General building that collapsed due to the earthquake at approximately 10:00 a.m. after stopping their mission at approximately 4:40 a.m. While the heavy machinery stopped working, my team went to survey the area. The machinery is now in Zone A first, and then adjusting the area to make an entrance to Zone B, which is a difficult zone to enter. The backhoe mission went to Zone B to cut through the obstacles in the cavity that was found, where there was still a large concrete slab blocking the way. They were able to drill 3 cavities and 1 large cavity to expedite the search.
Pol. Maj. Gen. Watee Asvutmangkur, Commander of the Central Institute of Forensic Science, revealed the progress after working with the Department of Public Works and Town and Country Planning to collect steel samples of each size in 4 zones A, B, C, and D. Randomly collecting samples of each type of steel, size 1 meter, to be delivered to the Iron and Steel Institute of Thailand to prove whether it meets the standards or not. Preparing to collect the remains of the cement of the structure for further examination because at this time it is still not possible to proceed because the officers are still in the process of digging the structure to help those who are stuck.
For the number of missing and dead, the original figures are still confirmed: 103 victims, 15 dead, 9 survivors, 79 stranded.
Help continues to pour in. One of the notable contributions came from Mr. Tan Ichitan, who visited the victims' relatives, spoke to them, and gave them encouragement. He initially contacted 'Gun Jom Phalang' to tell him if there was anything missing, and he would help contribute. He transferred 2 million baht to 'Gun Jom Phalang' to distribute to help the people. All the officers are volunteers and are working hard. He expressed gratitude on behalf of the victims' relatives.
Regarding the progress of the chaotic incident where officers were punched and people snatched a lot of drinks, Pol. Col. Sanong Saengmani, Superintendent of Bang Sue Police Station, said that there must be a discussion with the district office first about what safety measures will be put in place to facilitate officers on duty.
As for the impact on the surrounding area, such as JJ Mall, a retail and wholesale mall located on the street opposite the scene of the incident, today is the first holiday after the incident. The news team went to talk to the officers who said that the mall reopened on April 1st. Meanwhile, the vendors inside the mall admitted that the atmosphere was quiet. Most of them were foreign tour customers who still came as usual because they said that in their country, this kind of incident happened and they were not worried. They admitted that Thai customers were gone, but there were still regular customers who came to buy products as usual.