One month on, SAO rubble site gets hydraulic breakers

One month after the SAO collapse, 31 remain missing. The death toll rises to 63. Hydraulic breaker excavators will be deployed to speed up operations.

Suriyachai Rawiwan, Director of the Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation (DDPM), provided an update on the demolition progress of the collapsed new State Audit Office (SAO) building. Monday (April 28, 2025) marks one month since the collapse. 

He stated that the structure’s height has now been reduced to an average of about 1.37 metres. Looking from the front of the structure, the basement walls are now visible.

Measuring from the side of the building, where it aligns with the first-floor level, it can be seen that the front structure’s height has been brought down to match the first-floor surface. Only the rear structure remains, which is still steeply sloped. 

Today's operation plan involves accelerating the removal of collapsed structural parts at Zone C near the parking building. Workers are breaking up concrete and steel to rebalance the structure with the front and to clear a path for officials to access the basement.

Regarding the recovery of trapped victims overnight, officials were able to retrieve one additional body from Zone D and discovered five more body parts among the rubble. An additional piece of human remains was also found among the concrete debris.

As for ongoing challenges, officials continue adjusting work plans, such as increasing personnel in certain zones that require more manpower and adapting machinery to suit the lower structure height and limited space. 

Today, they plan to withdraw the SK-1000 (nicknamed "Majin Buu", a character from the Dragon Ball series) excavator from the site because the structure’s height has fallen below the machine’s sensor capacity. A replacement hydraulic breaker excavator will be brought in. 

Over the past 30 days, Suriyachai expressed general satisfaction with the operation, acknowledging the severe complexity caused by the collapse.

However, reaching the basement remains difficult to predict due to various obstacles and the building’s solid concrete structure. Some areas have fractured debris, posing different challenges. 

The initial target is to clear about 1 metre per day, which would speed up the overall process. He confirmed that the entire site would be cleared by May.

Officials are still searching for 31 missing individuals, especially around the rubble piles at ground level and in the basement area, which is believed to have trapped many victims as they attempted to escape during the collapse.

According to Bangkok Metropolitan Administration’s report as of April 27, 2025, at 6pm, the SAO building collapse resulted in 63 confirmed deaths, 9 injuries, and 31 individuals still unaccounted for.

(2025/04/28-00:00)