Bangkok —
Bangkok governor Chadchart Sittipunt inspected an overpass bridge that collapsed at dusk yesterday while under construction in Bangkok’s Lat Krabang district. The cause of the catastrophic accident is still under investigation.
First our previous story:
Now for our update:
The overpass bridge located on On Nut-Lat Krabang Road in Bangkok collapsed around 6:41 PM on Monday evening, July 10th, killing two people and injuring as many as 13 people.
The deceased were identified as Mr. Chatchai Prasert, a project engineer, who died at the scene, and Mr. Aran Sangkharak, 24, a construction worker, who died at Chularat 9 Hospital.
The rescue workers and authorities are currently searching for potential casualties or injured individuals who may be trapped under the debris. As a safety precaution, traffic in the vicinity of the incident has been closed.
At 8:30 PM on Monday, Bangkok governor Chadchart Sittipunt traveled to the incident site to inspect the rescue operation. He requested that residents in the nearby area contact authorities at the emergency number 199 immediately if any of their family members or someone they know are missing since the incident occurred on a crowded public road, which could leave people trapped under the wreck.
He also established a command center to facilitate the rescue operation.
Regarding the cause of the collapse, Governor Chadchart disclosed that it is still under investigation. However, he believes it was not an accident but rather attributable to possible errors during the construction processes.
He ensures that those involved must take responsibility.
Meanwhile, Deputy City Clerk Mr. Narong Ruangsri revealed after visiting the incident scene that authorities are attempting to demolish and relocate the wreck of the overpass bridge in collaboration with the Department of Public Works and the contracting company.
He said that the first priority now is to expedite the clearance of the obstructed area to reopen it for public use as soon as possible.
“It will take about 7 days to clear all of the blockage off the road,” Mr. Narong said. “At the moment, we are using machinery, including 200-ton and 50-ton cranes, to lift and remove the damaged sections of the bridge.”
He advised people to use other routes.
