2025 Bangkok skyscraper collapse

2025 Bangkok skyscraper collapse
Part of the 2025 Myanmar earthquake
Debris pile, seen on 6 April
Date28 March 2025 (2025-03-28)
LocationKamphaeng Phet 2 Road
Coordinates13°48′8″N 100°32′50″E / 13.80222°N 100.54722°E / 13.80222; 100.54722
TypeStructural failure, Collapse
Cause2025 Myanmar earthquake
Deaths95
Non-fatal injuries9
Missing1

On 28 March 2025, a building under construction which was intended for the State Audit Office[1] collapsed in Bangkok, Thailand, following a devastating earthquake that occurred in Myanmar.[2][3][4] It resulted in 95[5] confirmed deaths and nine injuries, while another worker remained unaccounted for as of 14 May 2025.[6] Already topped-out, the building was 30% complete and, at the time of collapse, undergoing piping and glass wall installation.[1] The skyscraper was the only building destroyed by the earthquake in Thailand,[7] and the collapse was one of the deadliest single instances of structural failure in Thailand's history.

Background

The skyscraper, located on Kamphaeng Phet Road, next to Krung Thep Aphiwat Central Terminal and near the Chatuchak Weekend Market in Bangkok,[8] was 33 stories tall, with a height of 137 m or 449 ft, prior to the collapse.[9]

The construction project budget was 2.136 billion baht (USD 63 million) [10], had started in 2020 and the contractors were the joint venture between Italian-Thai Development and China Railways Number 10 (Thailand) Co., Ltd.[10]

In April 2024, the building topped out by China Railway No.10 Engineering Group.[11]

At the time of the earthquake, the glass facade and internal installations were being added.

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.[12] 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.[13]

At least 95 people died in the collapse,[14] while nine others were injured and one was reported missing. Of the dead, 93 were identified and 315 body parts were recovered.[15][6] Among the dead were 10 migrant workers from Myanmar and a Cambodian national.[16] The total of foreign nationals killed was 22.[17]

Response

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.[18] The United States deployed personnel to assist in rescue efforts at the site.[19] The Israeli embassy also sent a scanning device that was used to search for survivors.[20]

Following the earthquake, Thai Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra visited the site of the collapse on the evening of 28 March.[21] On 2 April, she visited the site again and met with relatives of the collapse victims.[22] On 4 April, Bangkok's Governor, Chadchart Sittipunt, apologised for delays in rescue efforts.[23] 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.[24] By 27 April, 38 million baht had been released by the ministry.[25] On 31 March, a man was arrested for falsely claiming that his wife was trapped in the building.[26]

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".[27] Rescue operations ended on 13 May with 89 confirmed dead and seven others missing.[28]

Investigation

On 28 March 2025, Paetongtarn ordered the formation of a committee of experts to investigate the collapse within a week.[29] On 2 April, she visited the site again and met with relatives of the collapse victims.[22] Investigators focused on whether "the construction quality, materials used, and whether building codes for earthquake resilience were adequately followed."[30] 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.[31]

Four Chinese employees linked to a contractor were apprehended after entering the restricted Chatuchak disaster site without permission and removing 32 documents related to the construction project. They were stopped by police while attempting to leave the area, and the files were confiscated. Authorities launched legal action and an investigation into the incident, citing concerns over unauthorized access and the possible significance of the retrieved documents to the collapse probe.[32]

Thailand's Ministry of Industry initially said that one of the steel bars used in the collapsed building was substandard and came from a Chinese company, Xin Ke Yuan Steel,[33] in Thailand.[34][35] The company providing it had been ordered to close since December 2024.[36] However, in June 2025, the Thai government said that the quality of the steel, concrete, and other construction materials met required standards, and attributed the collapse to poor design and construction deficiencies of the elevator and stairwell walls, which were meant to absorb shear force and failed to do so.[37]

On 19 April 2025, Police Colonel Tawee Sodsong announced that a Chinese national representing China Railway No. 10 had been arrested, while three Thai company shareholders were issued with arrest warrants over the collapse.[38] The arrested Chinese individual was identified as Zhang Chuanling, a Chinese executive and director of the joint venture.[39] On 15 May, the Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for 17 individuals over the collapse, including former Italian-Thai Development president Premchai Karnasuta,[40][39] who surrendered along with 14 other suspects in Bangkok. He denied the charges.[41]

A panorama of the skyscraper site on 5 April

Reactions

The collapse prompted scrutiny of construction materials linked to Xin Ke Yuan Steel, which had supplied steel bars to the State Audit Office building. The company’s products were also identified in a separate structural failure in Phan Thong, Chonburi. On 16 May 2025, part of a factory building in the Amata City Chonburi Industrial Estate collapsed, injuring one woman and damaging seven nearby vehicles.[42] Investigators reported that 20 mm deformed steel bars and 9 mm round steel rods manufactured by Xin Ke Yuan Steel were found in the debris.[43] The factory, operated by Cosmo Manufacturing (Thailand) Ltd, had leased the building since 2022. Following the incident, Thailand's Ministry of Industry ordered an urgent investigation, while the Industrial Estate Authority of Thailand temporarily suspended operations at the site and mandated a full structural assessment.[43]

In China, online discussion on the collapse of the building was censored in the same way as commentary on other tofu-dreg projects.[44][45]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b "Chatuchak building collapse due to unstable structure: Bangkok dept". The Nation. 28 March 2025. Retrieved 28 March 2025.
  2. ^ "Powerful Myanmar earthquake kills dozens, also hits Thailand". Reuters. Retrieved 28 March 2025.
  3. ^ "Earthquake rocks Thailand and Myanmar, triggering the collapse of a Bangkok high-rise". NPR. Retrieved 28 March 2025.
  4. ^ "Myanmar-Thailand earthquake live updates: More than 100 dead, 700 injured in Myanmar". ABC News. 30 March 2025 [28 March 2025]. Retrieved 28 March 2025.
  5. ^ "นิติเวช เผยผลพิสูจน์อัตลักษณ์ เหลือผู้สูญหายตึกสตง.ถล่ม อีก 4 ราย". Matichon online (in Thai). Retrieved 14 May 2025.
  6. ^ a b อัปเดต ตึกถล่ม เร่งเปิดทาง 3 จุดต้องสงสัยค้นหา 11 ร่าง - ยอดดับ 89 รายราย. Bangkok Niz News (in Thai). Retrieved 7 May 2025.
  7. ^ Panu, Wongcha-um (31 March 2025). "Thai watchdog had flagged concerns over building that collapsed in earthquake". Reuters.
  8. ^ "Dozens of workers trapped in collapsed Bangkok high-rise". Bangkok Post. 28 March 2025. Retrieved 28 March 2025.
  9. ^ "Bangkok high-rise collapses after powerful 7.7 earthquake rocks Myanmar and Thailand". PBS. 28 March 2025. Retrieved 28 March 2025.
  10. ^ a b Jay (28 March 2025). "อาคาร "สตง." ถล่ม! สะเทือน ITD ผู้ก่อสร้าง หลังแผ่นดินไหว" ["State Audit Office" building collapses! ITD, the builder, is shaken after the earthquake.]. Business stock news online (in Thai). Retrieved 28 March 2025.
  11. ^ Qi'an, Xu (28 March 2025). "緬甸地震｜泰國摩天大樓倒塌5死 建商為中國鐵路十局去年才封頂" [Myanmar earthquake | 5 killed in collapse of Thai skyscraper, built by China Railway 10th Bureau, which only completed the roof last year]. Hong Kong01 (in Chinese (Hong Kong)). Retrieved 29 March 2025.
  12. ^ ANSS. "M 7.7 – 16 km NNW of Sagaing, Myanmar 2025". Comprehensive Catalog. U.S. Geological Survey.
  13. ^ "What caused the Myanmar earthquake - and why did it make a tower in Bangkok collapse?". BBC. 31 March 2025. Retrieved 2 April 2025.
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  15. ^ รายงานสถาบันนิติเวช 4 มิถุนายน พ.ศ. 2568
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  17. ^ "สปส.ชี้กรณีผู้สูญหายจากตึกสตง.ถล่ม ต้องไม่น้อยกว่า 120 วัน รับสิทธิเทียบเท่าเสียชีวิต". มติชน (in Thai). 12 May 2025. Retrieved 12 June 2025.
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  20. ^ "Local death count from Friday's tremor rises to 18". Bangkok Post. 30 March 2025. Retrieved 30 March 2025.
  21. ^ "First deaths confirmed as 'mass casualty' quake hits Myanmar, Thailand". France 24. 28 March 2025. Retrieved 28 March 2025.
  22. ^ a b "Paetongtarn visits families of collapsed building victims". The Nation. Retrieved 2 April 2025.
  23. ^ "Bangkok governor apologises for delay in building collapse rescue". The Nation. Retrieved 4 April 2025.
  24. ^ Ngamkham, Wassayos. "Ministry sets out compensation offer". Bangkok Post. Retrieved 7 April 2025.
  25. ^ "SAO building collapse: Over 38M baht paid to victims, 32 missing". The Nation. Retrieved 28 April 2025.
  26. ^ "Man arrested for fake story about pregnant wife in collapsed building". The Nation. 31 March 2025. Retrieved 1 April 2025.
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  28. ^ "Bangkok officials end search operation at the skyscraper that collapsed following an earthquake". AP News. Retrieved 13 May 2025.
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  31. ^ "Myanmar-Thailand earthquake: Foreign rescuers join frantic search for Myanmar quake survivors". BBC News. 29 March 2025. Retrieved 29 March 2025.
  32. ^ Nguyen, James Morris and Son (30 March 2025). "4 Chinese men nabbed by police as trying to remove 32 large files from the Chatuchak disaster site zone". Thai Examiner. Retrieved 20 March 2026.
  33. ^ "Steel supplier for collapsed Bangkok building also sells products for Laos railway project". The Straits Times. 2 April 2025. ISSN 0585-3923. Retrieved 18 May 2025.
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  35. ^ Kaufman, Arthur (4 April 2025). "Following Myanmar Quake, Chinese State-Owned Contractor Under Scrutiny for Bangkok High-Rise Collapse". China Digital Times. Retrieved 8 April 2025.
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  39. ^ a b "Thai tycoon and engineers charged in fatal Bangkok building collapse". euronews. Archived from the original on 25 August 2025. Retrieved 20 March 2026.
  40. ^ "Seventeen arrest warrants issued over Bangkok skyscraper collapse". BBC. 15 May 2025. Retrieved 16 May 2025.
  41. ^ "Thai tycoon surrenders over deadly skyscraper collapse". France 24. 16 May 2025. Retrieved 16 May 2025.
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  43. ^ a b "Xin Ke Yuan steel found in debris of collapsed factory at Amata City Chonburi". nationthailand. 17 May 2025. Retrieved 20 March 2026.
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  45. ^ Colville, Alex (2 April 2025). "Deadly Blunders in Bangkok". China Media Project. Retrieved 3 April 2025.
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