UPDATE: The death toll in Bangkok from a massive earthquake that hit Myanmar and Thailand rose to 17 on Sunday (Mar 30), city authorities said.
The Bangkok Metropolitan Authority said 32 people were injured and 83 still unaccounted for ‒ most from the site of the 30-storey tower block under construction that collapsed when the quake struck Friday ‒ AFP
Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra said in a media interview that a committee will establish the cause of the structural failure and report back within a week, reports the Bangkok Post.
The inquiry will examine the building’s design, the authority that approved the design, how it was approved and whether any of these factors led to the collapse, she said.
Ms Paetongtarn also echoed public concern as to why this building collapsed but other, similar structures remained intact.
“I watched multiple clips of the building collapse from different angles. From my experience in the construction industry, I have never seen an issue like this. We must investigate thoroughly because a significant portion of the budget was allocated, and the deadline for completion had been extended,” she said.
The office was a joint venture between Italian-Thai Development Plc and a subsidiary of China Railway No.10 Engineering Group, which operates under the state-owned China Railway Engineering Corporation (CREC) ‒ one of the world’s largest construction and engineering companies.
Netizens were quick to point out that the company’s posts about the collapsed building have all been deleted.
Meanwhile, Interior Minister Anutin Charnvirakul said rescuers are being hampered by debris and insisted that their operations are not slow.
He did, however, concede that the 24-hour mark, known for being the point where the odds of finding survivors after a disaster drops sharply, has passed.