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2025 Bangkok skyscraper collapse
Construction site collapse in Bangkok, Thailand From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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On 28 March 2025, an under-construction building intended for the State Audit Office[2] collapsed in Bangkok, Thailand, following a devastating earthquake that occurred in Myanmar.[3][4][5] It resulted in 92[6] confirmed deaths and 9 injuries, while 4[6][7] workers remained unaccounted for as of 14 May 2025.[8] Already topped-out, the building was 30% complete and, at the time of collapse, undergoing piping and glass wall installation.[9] The skyscraper was the only building affected by the earthquake in Thailand, and the collapse was one of the deadliest single instances of structural failure in Thailand's history.
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Background
The skyscraper, located on Kamphaeng Phet Road, next to Krung Thep Aphiwat Central Terminal and near the Chatuchak Weekend Market in Bangkok,[10] was 33 stories tall, with a height of 137 m or 449 ft, prior to the collapse.[11] Construction had started in 2020 and the building topped out in April 2024 as per the China Railway No.10 Engineering Group.[12] The contractors were the joint venture between Italian-Thai Development and China Railways Number 10 (Thailand) Co., Ltd.[13] At the time of the earthquake, the glass facade and internal installations were being added. The construction budget was 2.136 billion baht (USD 63 million).[13]
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Collapse
On 28 March 2025 at 12:50:52 MMT (06:20:52 UTC), a Mw 7.7 strike-slip earthquake struck the Sagaing Region of Myanmar, with an epicenter close to Mandalay, the country's second-largest city.[14] Despite Bangkok being located more than 1,000 kilometers from the epicenter, heavy shaking was felt in the city due to the supershear nature of the seismic rupture and Bangkok's soft soil amplifying the energy released by the earthquake, which led to the collapse.[15]
At least 89[16] people died in the collapse, while nine others were injured and eight[17] others were believed to be trapped under the rubble.[8] Among the dead were ten migrant workers from Myanmar and a Cambodian national.[18]
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Response
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Rescue workers brought in excavators to start combing the site for survivors. Excavators dredged piled-up soil and a crane was deployed to remove debris.[19] The United States deployed personnel to assist in rescue efforts at the site.[20] The Israeli embassy also sent a scanning device that was used to search for survivors.[21]
Following the earthquake, Thai Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra visited the site of the collapse on the evening of 28 March.[22] On 2 April, she visited the site again and met with relatives of the collapse victims.[23] On 4 April, Bangkok's Governor, Chadchart Sittipunt, apologised for delays in rescue efforts.[24] The Ministry of Labour announced that it would provide up to two million baht in compensation for relatives of each those who died in the collapse and cover the treatment of those injured.[25] By 27 April, 38 million baht had been released by the ministry.[26] On 31 March, a man was arrested for falsely claiming that his wife was trapped in the building.[27]
By 6 May 2025, search-and-rescue operations had shifted to the lower portions of the building, where authorities expressed hope that "the ongoing search could yield more discoveries".[28] Rescue operations ended on 13 May with 89 confirmed dead and seven others missing.[29]
Investigation
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On 28 March 2025, Paetongtarn ordered the formation of a committee of experts to investigate the collapse within a week.[30] On 2 April, she visited the site again and met with relatives of the collapse victims.[31] Investigators focused on whether "the construction quality, materials used, and whether building codes for earthquake resilience were adequately followed."[32] On 30 March, Industry Minister Akanat Promphan said at an on-site news conference that "anomalies" had been found in the steel and samples taken.[33]
In China, online discussion on the collapse of the building was censored in the same way as commentary on other tofu-dreg projects.[34][35]
Thailand's Ministry of Industry later said that one of the steel bars used in the collapsed building was substandard and came from a Chinese company, Xin Ke Yuan Steel,[36] in Thailand.[37][38] The company providing it had been ordered to close since December 2024.[39]
On 19 April 2025, Police Colonel Tawee Sodsong announced that a Chinese national who was a representative of China Railway No. 10 was arrested while three Thai company shareholders were issued with arrest warrants over the collapse.[40] On 15 May, arrest warrants were issued for 17 individuals over the collapse, including former Italian-Thai Development president Premchai Karnasuta,[41] who surrendered along with 14 other suspects in Bangkok. He denied the charges.[42]
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Related incident
Xin Ke Yuan Steel, which supplied sub-standard steel bars to SAO building, also supplied to a factory in Chon Buri. On 16 May 2025, a wall on the second floor of that factory collapsed.[43]
See also
References
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