Nanai Rd resident Joe Delaney was woken by screams from the neighbourhood, “I ran out into the street and heard lots of commotion with people shouting and screaming, then I noticed that one of the walls from the big hotel (Senses Beach Resort) on the hill had collapsed.”
The collapse of the wall completely destroyed one house occupied by 28-year-old single mother Autchara Jutisaneand and her three-month-old son, ‘Big’. Luckily no one was hurt.
A representative from the Senses Beach Resort said, “There was heavy rainfall on Friday night, combined with the breakage of water pipe lines underground, this caused excessive moisture in the soil.”
After a site inspection on Sunday (November 4), recently appointed Phuket Governor Maitree Intusut called for all relevant departments to strictly enforce planning and construction standards.
He added, “I am still worried about the main structure of the hotel,” but said that he had not declared the area a disaster zone as he had not yet thoroughly investigated it.
Gov Maitree said that that this case should make everybody concerned about the standard of construction on the island.
To ensure these standards are upheld, he plans to set up a conference with the relevant departments at both local government level and with the Public Works and Planning Department.
Gov Maitree said that ensuring building regulations are followed is a big issue that affects the whole area as well as tourism, and urged all departments to control the quality by adhering to building standards mandated by law.
The Senses Beach Resort has already agreed to cover the costs to repair Mrs Autchara’s house and to pay for any other damage caused to the village below.
The resort is currently under construction and as a result of the accident the soft opening has been postponed with the ‘exact date to be confirmed.’
On its website, the location of the ‘luxury property’ location is described as being, “Nestled on the lush forested hillside of Patong, Phuket’s most thrilling holiday resort.”