School’s construction does not match approved plan where young girl killed by collapsed wall, says governor

[snoop1130]

School’s construction does not match approved plan where young girl killed by collapsed wall, says governor

By Kritmet Loho 
The Nation

 

 

Khon Kaen governor Somsak Jangtrakul on Tuesday morning led police and related officials to inspect a private school building in Tambon Ban Ped of Muang district, which had been partially collapsed during a hail and rain storm on Monday afternoon, killing a four-year-old girl.

 

Somsak revealed that an initial survey found that the building construction failed to precisely follow the approved plan.

 

During the storm at around 4pm on Monday, three kindergartners were waiting for their parents in the company of some teachers at an open atrium in the three-storey building. A section from the top of the concrete wall suddenly fell on them from an 8-metre height, resulting in the death of the 4-year old and injuries to two pupils and two adult including the deceased girl’s father.

 

An inspection of the sealed scene, which still had debris on its floor, found the building’s construction had deviated from the approved plan, said Somsak.

 

“The part where the concrete wall and ceiling fell down should have been a solid wall according to the plan, but was installed with glass windows,” he said citing that a team from the Public Works and Town and Country Planning Office would later conduct a detailed inspection of the building.

 

In order to prevent a recurrence of the tragedy, Somsak said he would also have the provincial education office suspended classes at the school, and the damaged building would be closed to any use. He would also ask the provincial education office to have all schools check the structural stability of their buildings as a safety precaution.

 

Thanyawalai Panna, who had obtained the licence for the school, apologized on behalf of the school for the tragedy and said she was saddened by what had happened. She said the school would take responsibility for the affected families of the deceased and the wounded.

 

However, she insisted that the school building’s construction was according to the original plan.

 

Ban Ped superintendent Pol Colonel Prawit Toha said police had initially interviewed the school executives but hadn't yet filed any charges against anyone pending a detailed building inspection.

 

There were also various points to cover, he said, including whether the building design was met engineering standards, and whether the building’s construction was legal. Police would obtain the plan from Tambon Ban Ped Municipality to compare with the school building owner's plan to see if there were any discrepancies, he said.

 

Construction of the building began in 2013 and was completed the following year and opened for operations. There were 40 teachers and staff and nearly 400 students from pre-school level to Prathom 4.

 

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/detail/breakingnews/30368195

 

-- © Copyright The Nation 2019-04-23

[Lungstib]

You'd like to think it was just a one-off deviation from the master plan in an effort to obtain more light but anyone here more than 2 years will assume its the usual corruption whereby money 'saved' was funnelled into various pockets. It almost certainly wont be the last in this type of tragedy. 

[RotBenz8888]

8 minutes ago, snoop1130 said:

the building construction failed to precisely follow the approved plan.

Could there be more substandard constructions i this country? ????

[trainman34014]

RIP the little darling and hopes for a quick recovery for the injured.

 

Looks like the normal Thai building 'standard'...i.e...the 'Builders' can't even read a plan !   Every time i've given plans to a Thai builder he says he can't read them or doesn't understand them....''can only do it one way'' they say.

 

And where may i ask was the Building Inspector when the job was completed ?   No doubt still counting the contents of his brown envelope !    The Builders and Inspectors should all be jailed but it will never happen; a few Wai's, baskets of fruit for the injured and onward to the next catastrophe.

[webfact]

Khon Kaen school building under scrutiny after wall collapse

By KRITMET LOHO 
THE NATION

 

Concrete debris is scattered over the ground floor of a private school building in Muang Khon Kaen, following a partial collapse during Monday afternoon’s storm that led to a four-year-old pupil’s death.

 

A FOUR-YEAR-OLD girl was killed when the wall of a school building collapsed during heavy rains and strong winds in Khon Kaen province on Monday.

 

According to an initial investigation, the collapse may be linked to modification of the building’s construction plan.

 

 

Khon Kaen Governor Somsak Jangtrakul yesterday morning led police and related officials to inspect the private school building in Tambon Ban Ped of Muang district, where the four-year-old girl had died.

 

Somsak revealed that an initial survey found the building construction failed to precisely follow the approved plan.

 

During the storm at around 4pm on Monday, three kindergartners were waiting for their parents in the company of some teachers at an open atrium in the three-storey building. 

 

A section from the top of the concrete wall suddenly fell on them from an eight-metre height, resulting in the death of the four-year-old while and two pupils and two adults, including the deceased girl’s father, suffered injuries.

 

An inspection of the sealed scene, which still had debris on its floor, found the building’s construction had deviated from the approved plan, said Somsak.

 

“The part where the concrete wall and ceiling fell should have been a solid wall according to the plan, but it was installed with glass windows,” he said, adding a team from the Public Works and Town and Country Planning Office would later conduct a detailed inspection of the building.

 

In order to prevent a recurrence of the tragedy, Somsak said he would also have the provincial education office suspended classes at the school, and the damaged building would be closed for any use. He would also ask the provincial education office to have all schools check the structural stability of their buildings as a safety precaution.

 

Thanyawalai Panna, who had obtained the licence for the school, apologised on behalf of the school for the tragedy and said she was saddened by what had happened. She said the school would take responsibility for the families of the deceased and the wounded.

However, she insisted that the school building’s construction was according to the original plan.

 

“It was the first rainfall that Khon Kaen people had long waited for, but I lost my little girl forever that day,” said Paisal Surasa, 37, the father of Suchada. He himself damaged a left arm bone from the incident. 

 

At his daughter’s funeral at Wat Klang yesterday, Paisal recalled that he had gone to pick up Suchada at the school, where she had just start studying two weeks ago. 

 

However, heavy rains and gusty winds prompted them to seek shelter in the building when the wall suddenly collapsed on them. “It happened so fast. We were walking to the other side of hall when it all went black for a few moments as I felt something crashing down on me and I fell. I opened my eyes and saw my daughter crushed under debris,” the grief-stricken father said. Paisal’s wife was still in shock. The girl was her parents’ only child. 

 

Khon Kaen Governor Somsak attended the girl’s funeral and offered a wreath while the Office of the Private Education Commission representative offered some initial financial aid to the family.

 

The girl’s cremation ceremony will be held on Friday.

 

Ban Ped superintendent Pol Colonel Prawit Toha said police had initially interviewed the school executives but had not yet filed any charges against anyone pending a detailed building inspection.

 

There were also various points to cover, he said, including whether the building design met engineering standards, and whether the building’s construction was legal. Police would obtain the plan from Tambon Ban Ped Municipality to compare with the school building owner’s plan to see if there were any discrepancies, he said.

 

Construction of the building began in 2013 and was completed the following year and opened for operations. There were 40 teachers and staff and nearly 400 students from pre-school level to Prathom 4.

 

Full story: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/detail/national/30368237

 

-- © Copyright The Nation 2019-04-24

[DoctorG]

May I suggest that the various people inspecting the site (photos) should be wearing hard hats. If one part has collapsed there is a likelihood that more will come down.

[Pho King]

2 hours ago, DoctorG said:

May I suggest that the various people inspecting the site (photos) should be wearing hard hats. If one part has collapsed there is a likelihood that more will come down.

Don't worry, their heads are harder than a 4 year old's...

[Khun Paul]

So planning permission was sought, but not followed, so WHICH STATE OFFICAL signed off the completed structure, or was it as usual, large brown envelope equals a signature . 

[Ulic]

So, no surprises there. Seems to be standard operating procedure. Submit plans, get approval, build however you want. Add 8-10 extra floors, change the building layout. It does not seem to matter. 

[hotchilli]

20 hours ago, Lungstib said:

You'd like to think it was just a one-off deviation from the master plan in an effort to obtain more light but anyone here more than 2 years will assume its the usual corruption whereby money 'saved' was funnelled into various pockets. It almost certainly wont be the last in this type of tragedy. 

You'd like to think that a deviation from plans of a solid wall to windows was approved & passed by someone?

[toenail]

As usual, a project is budgeted for a particular cost... an administrator (school or contractor) pockets part of the money and the place is built by employed amateurs ( below minimum wage), cheap materials are used, and no building code inspections... but the modern, new facade gives the impression that it is good quality. No accountability in Thailand so this kind of malpractice continues in the country. 

[AsianAtHeart]

The description of the accident indicates that the window, whether part of the original plan or not, had little to do with it.  Something moved in the storm, and it wasn't likely the window.  The movement is what allowed the wall to collapse.  I would suggest the inspectors should be taking a very close look at the metalwork that holds up the roof.

[Sealbash]

RIP the little darling and hopes for a quick recovery for the injured.
 
Looks like the normal Thai building 'standard'...i.e...the 'Builders' can't even read a plan !   Every time i've given plans to a Thai builder he says he can't read them or doesn't understand them....''can only do it one way'' they say.
 
And where may i ask was the Building Inspector when the job was completed ?   No doubt still counting the contents of his brown envelope !    The Builders and Inspectors should all be jailed but it will never happen; a few Wai's, baskets of fruit for the injured and onward to the next catastrophe.

Have you considered hiring a reputable construction company rather than the most economical local available? There are many quality buildings constructed in Thailand, although done by large construction companies.


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