Rescue team recovers 1st body from Korat tunnel, 2 still trapped
K9 sniffer dogs will be sent in to locate the other two once supports have been put up, say officials
The rescue team has retrieved a body from the high-speed railway tunnel in Nakhon Ratchasima which collapsed six days ago and believes it is that of the Myanmar dump truck driver.
After the discovery of the body at 11am on Thursday, the team has intensified its efforts to find the other two trapped workers.
The rescue team, comprising officials from the State Railway of Thailand and Hunan Sunshine Company from China, told reporters that the worker had died by the time they got to him. The body is yet to be identified.
After the landslide, which struck at 11.40pm on Saturday (August 24), the Chinese contractor said two Chinese nationals (a foreman and worker) and a Myanmar worker, were trapped inside the tunnel.
Meanwhile, Nakhon Ratchasima governor Chaiwat Chuenkosum, provincial police chief Pol Maj-General Narongrit Dansuwan, and Dr Udom Assawutmangkul, chief of public health area 9, provided updates to the press on Thursday.
Chaiwat said the rescue team spotted the body and called for help from the medical team, which rushed in only to find the worker had died.
He added that signs of life have been detected from further inside the tunnel, though rescue efforts have been slowed by concerns of additional landslides.
He said once support structures have been put up later in the day, a team of K9 sniffer dogs will be sent in to locate the other two men.
The body, meanwhile, has been sent for an autopsy at the Nakhon Ratchasima Hospital, Dr Udom said.
Narongrit said the body was found lying next to a dump truck, adding that the time of death has yet to be determined.
