Hopes raised as voice heard from under the collapsed Bangkok high-rise

Bangkok Governor Chadchart Sittipunt said today that he still has hope that there are some survivors still buried under tonnes of debris from the collapsed State Audit Office building, after a female voice was heard coming from deep under the rubble.

The governor told the media that workers used heavy machinery to lift huge concrete blocks and other debris from 6pm until 9pm last night. The work then stopped, to allow search teams and sniffer dogs to enter the area.

At about 10pm, a team heard a human voice, coming from a cavity under the debris. Then, a small drone was dropped into the area and the image of a human was detected. An acoustic device was then lowered into the hole and the sound of knocking was detected.

Governor Chadchart said that earthquake rescue experts had advised said that there may be some survivors trapped in the building’s former fire exits, which corresponds with area from which the voice was heard.

The cavity is about three metres deep and it is in a web of tangled rebar.

This morning, officials stopped using heavy machinery, for fear that the vibrations may endanger any survivors. Thai and foreign rescue teams are now digging by hand to get to the cavity

Chadchart said that a team of only 10 people at a time can work to search for survivors.

He disclosed that, in previous earthquake rescue operations abroad, some survivors were rescued 2-3 weeks after structural collapses, adding that he believes in miracles and that there are still some survivors.

72 construction workers are still missing and believed trapped under the rubble.