At least five people were killed and 27 others injured when a concrete beam collapsed in Bangkok early Saturday, March 15.
The beam fell from a highway bridge under construction near Rama 2 Road in Chom Thong district, Bangkok.
Bang Mod police were alerted to the incident at around 1:48 a.m. near Rama 2 Soi 25, close to the Rama III-Dao Khanong Expressway.
According to available information, a concrete beam under construction, located about 200 meters from a motorway entrance, collapsed onto an existing motorway structure, causing numerous injuries and confirmed deaths.
More than 20 workers were on site at the time of the collapse.
Rescue teams and officers from Bangkok's Disaster Prevention and Mitigation Department rushed to the scene to locate and assist survivors in the rubble, using sniffer dogs and specialized equipment.
As of 7 a.m., five workers were confirmed dead and at least 27 others injured.
Rescue efforts continued as four victims were recovered from the rubble and another body remained missing.
Among the five dead were three Thai nationals (an engineer and two workers) and two foreign workers.
The injured were taken to nearby hospitals.
A worker at the scene said he heard loud noises coming from the structure before it collapsed as concrete was poured to connect the columns.
The nearby Chom Thong Road was closed in all directions due to ongoing rescue operations.
Engineers and police are investigating the cause of the collapse.
A major road connecting Bangkok to Samut Sakhon
Rescuers search for survivors in the rubble following the collapse of a concrete beam of a highway overpass under construction near Rama 2 Road in Bangkok on Saturday, March 15. Photo: Khuean Khan News Centre
Rama 2 Road is the main and most direct route connecting Bangkok to the southern region, including the resort town of Hua Hin in Prachuap Khiri Khan province.
Government officials agree that congestion on Rama 2 Road is detrimental to tourism, as local and foreign tourists often opt for other destinations to avoid the traffic jams.
The construction of an expressway over the road linking Bangkok to Samut Sakhon is intended to reduce travel time, but construction delays and frequent incidents and road closures have led to even greater congestion.
Especially on weekends and long holidays.
Previous construction accidents on Rama 2 Road have resulted in casualties.
One of the accidents occurred on November 29 last year when a sling broke, killing six people and injuring eight others.
Another accident occurred on January 18 last year when a sling broke, killing a worker and causing the crane's lifting basket to fall.
In May 2023, a worker was killed by a falling concrete slab.
According to the Ministry of Roads, from 2018 to March 15, there were more than 2,500 accidents on Rama 2 Road, from km 0+000 to km 84+041, which resulted in 143 deaths and 1,441 injuries.
See also:
Monorail crash prompts government warning in Thailand
Heavy rains cause highway to collapse in Thailand
Corruption blamed for Thailand road collapse
Source: Bangkok Post
Prepare your trip to Thailand
Book bus, train, or boat in Thailand
Manage your money while traveling with Wise
If our news, tourist information, or cultural content has been useful to you and you'd like to thank us:
You can follow us on:
Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, Google News
Or install our app:
Install the Toute la Thaïlande app on your smartphone
⚠️ Cryptocurrencies involve risks: Invest only what you are willing to lose.
6 comments
I quote: "According to the Ministry of Roads, from 2018 to March 15, there were more than 2,500 accidents on the Rama 2 road, from km 0+000 to km 84+041, which resulted in 143 deaths and 1,441 injuries." End of quote.
I am not aware of the "national" statistics concerning road accidents and road construction accidents on the deadliest sections of road in Thailand (which, I remind you, is one of the deadliest countries in the world in terms of fatal accidents with more than 26,000 direct deaths, not counting the seriously injured who then die in hospital as a result of their injuries...), but the statistic of 143 deaths and 1,441 injuries on a section of 84 km over 4 years and 3 months, which makes 34 deaths and 350 injuries per year, seems particularly deadly to me!!!
Could there be a structural and civil engineering problem with the choice of poor quality materials or subcontracting with underqualified personnel?
It is common knowledge that Thai public contracts awarded to private companies during "public procurement tenders" are subject to financial manipulation, backhanders, bribes and corruption to secure and ultimately obtain the award of this type of project without subsequently respecting the specifications and safety standards, in order to secure a larger share of profits for the benefit of corrupt decision-makers and senior managers of these construction and civil engineering companies...
In view of the repeated accidents on this particular section, we can ask ourselves these various questions which will probably remain unanswered for the majority...
In fact, few investigations result in the courts recognizing the responsibility of the companies involved and their directors, who are often very close to the country's political and governmental authorities.
Lack of rigor in work in Thailand is a recurring problem.
Too often, construction sites are improvised, equipment insufficient, and safety neglected.
This lack of vision and structure leads to poor finishes and, more seriously, to fatal accidents: collapsed bridges, poorly fixed beams, precarious infrastructure.
There is an urgent need to adopt strict quality standards and more rigorous management to ensure safe, sustainable construction that respects human lives.
Thanks for the ad, it's not easy for articles.
Gaspard, hello…
Apart from the fact that our comments are along the same lines, which I am pleased about and which reassures me that I am not "off the mark" and that others think like me, I am not apparently bothered by advertisements that are invasive...
They are easily avoided by installing a small software (generally free in the basic version) which "expels" them from your browser (you can already block the majority of cookies intended for advertisements in the browser settings) or by using a VPN (NoordVPN, Cyberghost, etc.) which blocks them automatically... personally, this invasion of annoying ads, but necessary for the survival of information sites among others, does not appear for me.
Hello Gaspard and Hansson,
As already explained, independent sites are much less exposed than before on Google, which means that our income has greatly decreased.
Ads can be annoying, yes, but they allow us to survive, and we thank everyone who keeps them up to support us.
Many other sites have already closed, and we hope we won't have to go down this path.
Hello,
Thank you for your comments.
When I use the site on PC, in fact, there are no ads, because I have the necessary protections.
It's on my Samsung phone that there are permanent flashes that make reading very difficult.
I have the VPN on my laptop too.
I can send you a photo for example.
Thank you for your attention.
Yours faithfully
Hello Gaspard,
I contacted you by email to get the photos to see the problem (constant flashes which make reading very difficult.)