Day 18 of search and rescue: Death toll climbs to 44, 50 still missing

The BMA reported a total of 103 victims from the incident. Of those, 44 have been confirmed dead, nine were injured, and 50 remain missing.

A total of 44 people have been confirmed dead, while 50 others remain missing following the collapse of a 30-story building in Bangkok's Chatuchak district, the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) reported on Tuesday.

The under-construction State Audit Office (SAO) building on Kamphaeng Phet 2 Road collapsed on March 28 due to the impact of an 8.2-magnitude earthquake near Mandalay, Myanmar, trapping over a hundred workers inside.

One more body was discovered in Zone C on Tuesday, the 18th day of the search and rescue mission, a city official said.

The BMA reported a total of 103 victims from the incident. Of those, 44 have been confirmed dead, nine were injured, and 50 remain missing.

Of the recovered bodies, 15 have been identified and will be soon returned to the families for funeral arrangement. The BMA will provide a funeral allowance of 100,000 baht for each of the deceased, with the disbursement starting on Friday (April 18).

Tavida Kamolvej, Deputy Governor of Bangkok, stated that the operations are still proceeding according to plan and are progressing more quickly. The structure’s height has been reduced to 19 metres, with efforts to lower it further, she added.

“The staircase shaft in Zone C, which connects to Zone B, can now be accessed,” she said. “More areas will be opened today, so smaller vehicles must be moved out to allow larger ones in to support the search efforts, which are now focused on locating bodies, as more time has passed.”

(2025/04/15-00:00)