A four-story building in Bangkok’s Bang Kapi District partially collapsed yesterday, injuring two Thai women. Its chilling aftermath — caught on tape — has gone viral today.
Around 1pm yesterday, JS100, a radio channel that reports on traffic and road accidents in Bangkok, reported that a commercial building, located between Soi 51/1 and Soi 51/2 on Ramkamhaeng Road, which had been in the process of being demolished, had collapsed.
The two casualties, who were hit by falling debris while walking along the street, were identified as 23-year-old Sopita Thongkerd and 54-year-old Napaporn Seiboonreung, reported Spring News.
Both were immediately transported to the hospital. Their conditions are, reportedly, now stable.
Footage of the incident, shared by Facebook user Mian Anu yesterday, showed many pedestrians running away from the scene screaming while loud bangs — closely resembling the sound of objects violently hitting the ground — can be heard in the background.
One woman, presumably Napaporn, can be seen holding the right side of her head whilst blood drips down her body and clothes.
Nearby, another woman can be seen lying motionless on the ground as onlookers provide assistance. Her bloody head is later revealed in the video.
Thick smoke and dust fills the air.
Locals told reporters that the the building has been expropriated and contractors started tearing it down in December of 2017 in order to turn the area into a chimney for the Ramkhamhaeng University station of the underground railway, according to Matichon.
Yesterday’s incident occurred while nine workers were working on the building’s demolition. The workers said that tremors from their work caused the second floor balcony to collapse, plunging it through the awning of the first floor.
An inspection and investigation is currently being conducted into the building’s structure and the demolition company’s work safety protocols. Meanwhile, authorities have suspended all demolition work for now.
Officials are still working to determine a more specific cause of the dramatic collapse.
The incident raises concerns regarding the many poorly maintained, abandoned buildings scattered across the capital.
Bangkok’s plentiful collection of eerily empty buildings can be credited to the 1990s “Tom Yung Kung” financial crash, which caused widespread bankruptcy.
Nowadays, these buildings have become a sort of tourist attraction for certain kinds of urban explorers. However, they still pose serious safety risks.
When a Swedish man committed suicide on the 43rd floor of Bangkok’s abandoned “Ghost Tower” back in 2014, there were brief discussions of policing these abandoned buildings.
However, no solution or effective measures to maintain these buildings has been implemented since then.
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