Myanmar earthquake: Thailand orders probe into Bangkok skyscraper collapse after China firm’s link found

As a deadly 7.7 magnitude earthquake struck Myanmar on Friday, over 1,000 km away from the epicenter, in Thailand’s capital city of Bangkok, collapsed one 33-storey under construction high-rise building.

Thailand’s deputy prime minister Anutin Charnvirakul, who visited the collapse site on Saturday, ordered a rapid investigation into the incident, stirring curiosity among many as to what went wrong with the skyscraper, which was being constructed by a joint venture that included a Chinese firm.

‘Something definitely wrong’
This 33-storey high-rise building, despite having been dotted with cranes, collapsed in the intense quake shake. So far, eight bodies have been recovered from the debris of the skyscraper.

Questions over how and why the skyscraper collapsed so quickly have begun to do the rounds. Prof Suchatchavee Suwansawas, a civil engineer and politician from the Democrat Party, told The Telegraph UK that something was “definitely” wrong.

“You see all other buildings, even high-rise buildings under construction, they are safe. So either the design was wrong or construction was wrong, but it’s too soon to reach conclusions,” he noted.

Constructed over 3 years
The collapsed building reportedly was the unfinished headquarters of the Thailand’s State Audit Office (SAO) and had been under construction for three years, at a cost of more than two billion Thai baht (around $58 million).

It was a joint venture between Italian-Thai Development Plc and China Railway Number 10 (Thailand) Ltd. The latter company is a subsidiary of a Chinese firm named China Railway Number 10 Engineer Group Company, holding 49 per cent of shares, the largest amount of stake foreign entities can hold in a Thai company, The Telegraph UK reported.

As per local Thai media, China Railway Number 10 Thailand was established in 2018, serving as a construction contractor for office buildings, residential buildings, public roads, railways, and underground railways.

In 2023, the company reported a net loss of 199.66 million baht, from a revenue of 206.25 million baht and expenses of 354.95 billion baht.

Its shareholders comprise of Sophon Meechai with 40.80 per cent shares, Prachuab Sirikhet with 10.20 per cent shares and Manas Sri-anant with 3 per cent shares.

Thailand deputy PM orders probe
The Ministry of Industry, meanwhile, had sent an inspection team to the collapsed skyscraper’s site to determine whether low quality steel or poor engineering design contributed to the incident.

Thailand’s deputy prime minister Anutin Charnvirakul also ordered a high-level probe into the collapse after having visited the site. “I am appointing the investigation committee. I have given them seven days to report back as to what’s going on and what caused the falling down,” he told reporters.

At least 18 people were killed in Bangkok, while 33 others injured and 78 remained missing, city authorities said on Sunday. And of these, the majority of deaths were of the workers who got crushed under the rubble of the collapse skyscraper.

Rescuers are racing against time to get to the survivors, digging through the massive debris containing shattered concrete piles and twisted metal. A Thai police commander Teerasak Thongmo, said that his team of policemen and rescue dogs were working to locate the survivors. “Our team is trying to find anyone that might still be alive. Within the first 72 hours, we have to try and save those still alive,” he added.

In Myanmar, the earthquake so far has claimed around 1,700 lives, injured 3,400 others and left over 300 persons missing as of Sunday.

Why did Thailand take the hit of Myanmar earthquake
Experts have said that earthquakes that are very shallow, like this one which just 10 km from the surface, increase the amount of shaking that takes place at the surface. Geologists even described the force of the quake as equivalent to that of “334 atomic bombs”.

Dr Rebecca Bell, a reader in tectonics at Imperial College London, explained that the size of the earthquake was massive because of the type of fault, which was of ‘straight nature’.