While the hunt for survivors continues in Bangkok at the site of the under-construction office building that disintegrated in Friday’s earthquake, police say they’ll charge four Chinese nationals who worked on the project after they were found to be illegally retrieving documents from the site the next day.
It comes as the emergency probe into the cause of the collapse – the building was the only one in the Thai capital to fall in the quake – turns to steel, with a government ministry today saying a sample from the wreckage failed a quality test.
Thirteen construction workers are so far known to have died in the collapse and around 70 are still missing.
The 30-storey office tower was being built in the Chatuchak district for Thailand’s State Audit office (SAO) by a joint venture of Thailand’s Italian-Thai Development and a local subsidiary of China’s state-owned China Railway Group, the China Railway Number 10 (Thailand), Bangkok Post reports.
Work started in 2020 and had been due to finish in 2026, but an SAO official told the Post it was only 30% complete.
Suspicious behaviour
The day after the collapse, Saturday, police received calls from the public reporting suspicious behaviour at the site, which was restricted.
Police then interviewed four suspects found to have removed more than 30 documents stored in a container at the site, used as a temporary office.
The four were subcontractors working for Italian-Thai Development, Nation Thailand reports. They told police they needed the documents for an insurance claim.
The four were released but, after a local prosecutor filed a complaint on Sunday, police said they would charge the group with unauthorised entry into a restricted area, which can carry a three-month prison sentence or a $175 fine.
Sub-standard steel?
Separately, today Thailand’s Industry Ministry held a press conference announcing that a sample of steel rebar taken from the site had failed a quality test at the Iron and Steel Institute of Thailand.
A ministry spokesperson told media the sample had come from a factory in Rayong that the ministry had ordered closed in December. The factory had registered Chinese owners, Nation Thailand reports.
The spokesperson said the steel was probably purchased before the closure.
Steel from two other factories passed the test.
The ministry started a crackdown on steel plants six months ago, shutting seven down so far.
“Many of these factories used an old production process and equipment relocated from China. This has led to sub-standard steel,” Industry Minister Akanat Promphan told Reuters.
- Edited 1 April to correct number of confirmed deceased
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