The death toll from the collapse of a 30-storey building under construction in Bangkok rose to 20 on April 8 after rescue teams recovered three additional bodies, as efforts intensified to locate the 77 workers still missing, The Nation reported.

The structure, part of the new State Audit Office (SAO) complex, crumbled on March 28 in the city’s Chatuchak district, following a powerful 8.2-magnitude earthquake that struck near Mandalay, in neighbouring Myanmar. The quake, which was felt across northern Thailand, caused tremors more than 390 km away in Bangkok, raising concerns about the structural integrity of high-rise projects in the region.

A rescue official confirmed that the latest victims were discovered in Zones B and C of the collapse site after workers cleared significant debris and accessed a cavity nearly four metres deep. "The bodies were located during a coordinated sweep of unstable sections. Search crews worked through the night to reach the area," the official said.

The deceased have been transferred to the Institute of Forensic Medicine at the Police General Hospital for identification. Authorities have not yet released the names of the victims, pending notification of their families. More than a week after the collapse, rescue operations remain underway with teams from Thailand’s urban search and rescue unit, firefighters, and volunteers continuing to comb through the debris using heavy machinery, sniffer dogs, and drones.

Officials said they were racing against time, as the likelihood of finding survivors decreases each day. "We remain hopeful, but the conditions are increasingly challenging," the rescue official added. Structural engineers and investigators are also working in parallel to determine the exact cause of the building failure, though preliminary assessments suggest the tremor may have triggered a foundational collapse in the partially completed structure.

The incident has prompted public scrutiny of building safety regulations, especially in high-risk seismic zones. The Ministry of Interior has called for an urgent review of construction projects nationwide. As the search for the 77 missing workers continues, families have gathered near the site awaiting news. Many of the workers were migrants from neighbouring countries, further complicating the identification process.

Authorities say rescue operations will continue "as long as needed" to locate all missing persons and ensure the safety of remaining structures in the area.