Thailand ends search at site of skyscraper that collapsed during quake

BANGKOK (Reuters) - Thailand has declared an extremity to hunt cognition astatine the tract of a partially constructed Bangkok skyscraper that collapsed during a March 28 earthquake and killed scores of operation workers, the city's politician said connected Tuesday.

The 30-storey State Audit Office operation was the lone gathering successful the Thai superior that collapsed from the tremors caused by a 7.7 magnitude quake that struck cardinal Myanmar astir 1,020 km (635 miles) away.

An probe is underway into wherefore the gathering came down truthful easy portion those successful the remainder of the metropolis stood firm.

Earthquakes and tremors of that standard are highly uncommon successful Thailand and the quake sparked panic successful the city, which crushed to a halt for astir of the day.

Authorities person recovered 89 bodies from the rubble and 7 are inactive missing from 1 of the deadliest accidents of its benignant successful Thailand, which killed 96 people. In Myanmar, much than 3,700 radical died.

The six-week cognition successful Bangkok progressive hundreds of personnel, including planetary rescue teams successful an around-the-clock effort during which hunt dogs and dense instrumentality were deployed. The ngo was severely hampered by the standard and value of the debris.

"I privation to convey each those who helped," Bangkok Governor Chadchart Sittupunt told reporters. "This was a beingness changing incidental for galore and a lesson."

Authorities person truthful acold been identified 86 of the dead, portion forensic tests are being conducted connected 100 retired of 313 fragments of quality remains recovered from the site, according to police.

The probe is focusing connected those progressive successful the operation of the building, which started successful 2020.

A Thai anti-corruption watchdog said it had flagged to authorities irregularities it recovered successful the operation of the skyscraper earlier it collapsed, portion manufacture officials said archetypal tests of materials astatine the tract indicated the beingness of substandard steel.

(Reporting by Panarat Thepgumpanat and Panu Wongcha-um; Editing by Martin Petty)