Laotian Times, AFP – On 15 May, a Thai court issued arrest warrants for 17 individuals in connection with the collapse of a 30-storey skyscraper in Bangkok that fell during a powerful earthquake in late March, killing dozens of construction workers.
The tower, intended to house the State Audit Office (SAO), was reduced to rubble within seconds when a 7.7-magnitude earthquake struck neighboring Myanmar on 28 March.
While the quake devastated large parts of Myanmar and claimed thousands of lives, the SAO tower was the only building in Bangkok to collapse—prompting urgent questions about the quality of its construction.
Arrest Warrants Against Three Groups
“A Thai court today issued arrest warrants against three groups, comprising 17 people, related to the collapse,” said Police Lieutenant-General Siam Boonsom, speaking to AFP.
While he did not provide names, Thai media reports indicate that those targeted include executives and staff from Italian-Thai Development (ITD), a leading contractor on the project.
Design firms such as Forum Architect Co., Ltd. and Mainhart (Thailand) were reportedly responsible for approving flawed blueprints. The PKW joint venture oversaw supervision, while construction was carried out by ITD, China Railway No. 10 (Thailand), and the ITD-CREC joint venture.
Among those named are Suchart Chutipaphakorn, 64, director of Forum Architect; Premchai Karnasuta, 71, chairman of Italian-Thai Development; and Pimol Charoenying, an 85-year-old engineer whose signature appeared on the building plans despite his prior denial of involvement.
Authorities Blame Design Flaws, Substandard Materials
Investigators concluded that the collapse was primarily caused by serious design flaws and the use of poor-quality construction materials. One major error was the placement of the elevator shaft along the building’s rear edge instead of in the center, which shifted the torsion center and left the structure vulnerable during seismic activity.
This misalignment caused the elevator shaft walls and support columns to collapse nearly simultaneously, triggering the building to fall straight down.
Concrete samples recovered from the site failed to meet required strength standards, and multiple steel reinforcement bars did not match design specifications. Early assessments by Thai officials also confirmed that some of the steel rebars recovered from the rubble were substandard.
Death Toll, Ongoing Search
Authorities say they have so far recovered 89 bodies from the rubble, with seven individuals still missing. As investigations continue, officials suggest more charges could follow, particularly as scrutiny intensifies over what is now one of Bangkok’s most catastrophic construction failures in decades.
© Agence France-Presse