(May 6, 2025) – The basement and surrounding area of the collapsed State Audit Office (SAO) building have been cleared, while officials continue the search for 13 missing individuals.
The search for trapped victims at the collapse site of the SAO building in Bangkok’s Chatuchak district progressed significantly on Tuesday, according to Suriyachai Rawiwan, Director-General of the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA)’s Fire and Rescue Department.
He reported that no additional survivors or victims had been found during the search from last night through Tuesday morning. However, rescue teams have now fully cleared the concrete floor of the basement and surrounding area, covering approximately 40×40 metres.

“What remains is the collapsed section adjacent to parking zone B, which is about 3 metres tall and 15–20 metres wide,” he said. “Clearing this remaining debris is expected to take another 2–3 days.”

Suriyachai said officials plan to conduct DNA testing on 280 human body parts stored at the Police General Hospital’s Forensic Institute. These will be compared against the list of the 13 missing persons. If all identities cannot be confirmed, authorities may need to reassess the total number of missing individuals.
“The fact is, if the entire area has already been cleared and nothing has been found, then there is simply nothing there. Therefore, we must return to the original data to verify the accuracy of the number of missing persons,” he said.
“As for any human remains still held at the forensic institute, DNA testing must be expedited to confirm their identities.”
Suriyachai noted that the BMA has consistently provided factual updates to the media. He stated that the City Hall permitted the media to inspect the interior of the site after all sections of the building believed to have contained trapped bodies had been cleared.

—————#BMA #Bangkok #SAOBuilding #collapse #earthquake #Chatuchak #victims