A high-rise building under construction for Thailand’s Audit Office in Bangkok’s Chatuchak district collapsed on 28 March 2025 following a powerful earthquake in neighbouring Myanmar.
The building, which was 30% complete, crumbled during the quake, with over 50 workers reported to be on-site at the time of the incident.
The Myanmar earthquake, measured at 7.7 magnitude by the US Geological Survey, struck at approximately 13:25 local time. The epicentre was in the Sagaing Region in northwestern Myanmar, with a shallow depth of 10 kilometres.
The Thai Meteorological Department reported that the tremors were strongly felt in several Thai provinces, including Chiang Mai, Chiang Rai, and Bangkok.
Footage shared on social media showed residents fleeing buildings, with structural sway causing swimming pools in high-rises to spill over.
The collapse of the under-construction government office building has led to serious safety concerns and scrutiny of the project’s contractors.
The building was part of a 2.136 billion baht (approximately S$84.4 million) infrastructure project intended to serve as the new headquarters for the Office of the Auditor General.
Deputy Auditor General and spokesperson Sutthipong Boonnithi confirmed the collapse, stating that he had rushed to the site to assess the damage.
He reported that the structure was about 30% complete and had resumed construction after delays caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
The project, which began in 2020, was contracted to the ITD-CREC joint venture, a partnership between Italian-Thai Development PCL and China Railway No. 10 Engineering Group (Thailand) Co Ltd.
The building was scheduled to be completed during the 2020–2026 fiscal years.
Oversight of construction was the responsibility of another joint venture, PKW, comprising PN Synchronize Co Ltd, W. & Sahai Consultants Co Ltd, and KP Consultants and Management Co Ltd. The supervision contract was valued at 74.65 million baht.
According to Thai PBS, seven workers managed to escape the collapse, while at least 43 remained trapped in the rubble.
Thailand’s National Institute for Emergency Medicine has confirmed one death, and search and rescue operations are ongoing.
Authorities have not yet confirmed whether the collapse was due solely to the seismic impact or if structural deficiencies contributed.
However, the incident has triggered investigations into the construction quality, materials used, and whether building codes for earthquake resilience were adequately followed.
This is particularly significant given that Bangkok, although not situated near a major fault line, is occasionally affected by distant seismic events. Safety measures and structural codes are thus designed to provide some resilience against such tremors.
In response to the incident, emergency evacuation protocols were activated across the capital, particularly in commercial areas such as Sukhumvit and Siam, where many high-rise buildings temporarily emptied.
The Office of the Auditor General has yet to announce whether construction will resume or be permanently suspended.
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