Ancient Bangkok stupa collapses during restoration, killing one and injuring 11 (VIDEO)

Photo: Unseen Wat Thai/ Facebook- Uruphong Fire
Photo: Unseen Wat Thai/ Facebook- Uruphong Fire

A 20-meter-tall stupa at Bangkok’s Phraya Tham Temple collapsed during restoration efforts yesterday afternoon — killing one worker and injuring 11 others.

The historic structure, nicknamed the “Giant Stupa” for having four giant sculptures surrounding it, suddenly collapsed at 1:30pm yesterday while 16 workers were repairing it.

Two workers were critically injured — Boonserm Saengprasert, 61, received a pelvic fracture while Wilat Jaijanreed, 58, suffered from a cracked skull and a leg injury. Nine others sustained moderate injuries, according to Khaosod.

All of the injured workers, which consist of nine men and two women, were transported to Siriraj Hospital.

However, the accident’s one fatality wasn’t discovered until later, at around 6pm, when the family of worker Suritan Thongsai, 46, realized that he hadn’t come home from work. They asked officials to look for him and that’s when they found his body, under the debris of the stupa.

Historic drawing of the stupa -- Photo: Facebook/ Sira Tuangchaipiti
Historic drawing of the stupa — Photo: Facebook/ Sira Tuangchaipiti

While the first written record of Wat Phraya Tham dates from the Thonburi era, in the late 1700s, it is believed that the temple has been around since the late Ayutthaya period or earlier in that century.

The Thai Fine Arts Department, which is in charge of the stupa’s restoration, is currently looking into what caused the sudden collapse. The project reportedly began in May after the chedi started tilting.



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