Head of Reclining Buddha Collapses Less Than a Day After Consecration

[Georgealbert]

 

 

Picture of the damaged before it was covered over.

 

Residents are concerned about potential superstitions after the head of a large reclining Buddha statue at Wat Phra That Doi Saket unexpectedly broke off just a day after the statue’s opening ceremony. The temple swiftly covered the area with green tarpaulin while workers began repairs.

 

Heavy rains in the Chiang Mai region are believed to have caused the damage, with the head collapsing due to the cement being unable to bear the weight. Initial inspections revealed that the head had fallen from the newly completed Buddha statue, which was constructed between 2020 and mid-2024, measuring 59.99 metres in length.

 

 

The incident occurred early in the morning on 13 September 2024, just 24 hours after the Buddha’s opening ceremony held on 12 September. The ceremony, which marked the statue's official completion, was attended by numerous devotees and notable figures. Fortunately, the accident took place early morning, preventing any injuries.

Monks at the temple have asked reporters not to take photos and explained that the collapse was due to a construction error rather than any supernatural cause. They emphasised that publicising the event might cause unnecessary panic among the local community, which is already rife with speculation about the incident.

 

Some locals believe the collapse was due to structural issues, suggesting that the supporting materials used were inadequate to sustain the statue’s weight. Others speculate that it could be a bad omen, imagining the potential danger if the collapse had occurred during the ceremony with thousands in attendance.

 

Despite these concerns, the temple has not yet issued any official statement regarding the incident. The contractor responsible for the statue has been tasked with urgently restoring the damaged structure to ease the worries of the local Buddhist community.

 

-- 2024-09-15

 

 

 

[SAFETY FIRST]

24 minutes ago, Georgealbert said:

Monks at the temple have asked reporters not to take photos

I see nothing 👀

[mran66]

Result of people involved in construction, including monks, stealing cement and steel for cash 

[novacova]

We were last there in February and noted all construction workers were all Burmese and didn’t notice any Thai supervisors, though surely it had nothing to do with the engineering construction failure. 

[This Guy]

Zoom in on the picture and you can clearly see a very thin layer of rendering over a basically hollow structure filled with what appears to be building rubble as filler....I think some more heads will roll after this episode 😉

[ikke1959]

Of course constructions are not the hub of Thailand...

[billd766]

15 minutes ago, novacova said:

We were last there in February and noted all construction workers were all Burmese and didn’t notice any Thai supervisors, though surely it had nothing to do with the engineering construction failure. 

But the Burmese would not be in the position of ordering the building supplies, only for the construction work. They can only work with what they are given.

[stoner]

a clear metaphor on the state of buddhism in thailand...... it's broken. 

[proton]

No worries, the Buddha would not be attached to it anyway 

[BangkokReady]

3 minutes ago, stoner said:

a clear metaphor on the state of buddhism in thailand...... it's broken. 

 

A colourful façade hiding the true state of things.

[hotchilli]

12 hours ago, This Guy said:

Zoom in on the picture and you can clearly see a very thin layer of rendering over a basically hollow structure filled with what appears to be building rubble as filler....I think some more heads will roll after this episode 😉

Certainly looks like  a very fragile structure

[jippytum]

 No doubt further donations from the poor people  will  be forthcoming for the repair. 

[soalbundy]

It was just pi$$ed off with all the BS.

[rwill]

The metal beams inside all look rusty.

 

Perhaps they should have made a pillow for him to rest his head on.

[Aussie999]

Rain caused extra weight... 555

[Aussie999]

13 hours ago, BangkokReady said:

 

A colourful façade hiding the true state of things.

That's one thing Thais are good at.

[retarius]

Thai craftsmanship.

[Stargeezr]

New construction? Well looks like poor quality, and I hope the Thai people involved to to jail and face fines

for their shoddy work.

[novacova]

14 hours ago, billd766 said:

But the Burmese would not be in the position of ordering the building supplies, only for the construction work. They can only work with what they are given.

…without supervision.

[Thingamabob]

14 hours ago, stoner said:

a clear metaphor on the state of buddhism in thailand...... it's broken. 

Yes indeed, sad to say.

[Hockeybik]

Someone once told me about Thai roads that "Civil engineering is not a Thai strong suit." I think that pretty much sums up most Thai engineering. A structure like that should be carefully designed and manged. I'm going to bet that the builders and designers were pretty much "winging it". After all, it worked before. 

[ujayujay]

18 hours ago, mran66 said:

Result of people involved in construction, including monks, stealing cement and steel for cash 

Of course you can provide facts

[AustinRacing]

59.99 in length? I bet it was meant to be 60. That 0.001m shortfall may be the cause. That’s my conspiracy theory of the day. BTW how does the monk know to rule out  supernatural causes? Was he contacted by them or he knows there’s no such thing?

[billd766]

3 hours ago, novacova said:

…without supervision.

And whose fault and problem is that.

The Thai supervisors who were paid to supervise, and it seems that they did not do their job properly, if they bothered to do it at all.

[RocketDog]

Not unusual outcome for too many construction projects in the Kingdom.

 

I can hardly wait for the Thai Space Program to begin.🫢

[john donson]

did buddah ask for statues or is it just a way to collect money from the poor, stupid and superstitious 

[NanLaew]

On 9/15/2024 at 5:22 PM, This Guy said:

Zoom in on the picture and you can clearly see a very thin layer of rendering over a basically hollow structure filled with what appears to be building rubble as filler....I think some more heads will roll after this episode 😉

 

And of course you are an expert on reclining Buddha construction.

 

Puleeeze...

[novacova]

Today the wife wanted to have a look…

…no Burmese workers, only Thai workers, suppose they were canned for substandard labor…

The new pagoda and skywalk is nearly complete…

Will be flooded with tourists as soon as the TikTok’rs gets a hold of it.

Edited September 18 by novacova

[This Guy]

On 9/17/2024 at 11:00 AM, NanLaew said:

 

And of course you are an expert on reclining Buddha construction.

 

Puleeeze...

No, but common sense and using my eyes  to look helps

[simon43]

On 9/15/2024 at 5:07 PM, novacova said:

We were last there in February and noted all construction workers were all Burmese and didn’t notice any Thai supervisors, though surely it had nothing to do with the engineering construction failure. 

Sneaky Burmese payback for their defeat at the battle of Nong Sa Rai.....