Three Dead, Dozens Injured as Steel Beams collapse on Rama II Road

[Georgealbert]

 

Pictures from responders.

 

An incident occurred at approximately 04.15 on November 29, when a construction structure at a  site collapsed on Rama 2 Road, outbound direction, near Mahachai Mueang Mai Market in Samut Sakhon province. Emergency responders are conducting rescue operations and assessing the situation.

 

Initial reports confirm multiple casualties, with three fatalities, over a dozen injured, and two to three individuals still missing. The collapse happened in the main traffic lanes near Siam Nissan Samut Sakhon, Mahachai Mueang Mai Branch, in Khok Krabue subdistrict, Mueang district.

 

Authorities from the Mueang Samut Sakhon Police Station are leading the investigation. Details of the incident, including the cause of the collapse, remain under review.

This event has prompted a swift response from rescue teams and law enforcement as they work to recover the missing and assist the injured.

 

 

-- 2024-11-29

 

[dinsdale]

IMO to call this "an incident" is very much an understatement. 2 dead, 10 injured and 2 or 3 missing. This is a major collapse. I've lost count of how many "incidents" there have been on this particular construction. 

[SHA 2 BKK]

Drove back from Cha Am yesterday.   Rama II is becoming worse and worse. The pavement terribly uneven and many potholes combined with the usual congestion makes it a very unsafe experience.  RIP to those killed this morning during construction.   I really would hate to think of the number of lives taken during the construction of the road.   

[BritManToo]

I'm not clear who was killed ..........

Construction workers, passers by, commuters in cars?

[ChrisY1]

A catastrophe is what it is! This looks like a "traveller" has collapsed....the truss structure that lifts the segments from the road level off trucks.

Unbelievable that at this stage in this nightmarish project, that such a disaster could happen!

As #SHA 2 BKK states....much of the roadway now is badly in need of repair.....so many overloaded trucks and very narrow lanes, make this 40 kms a scary drive!

[ozz1]

Another case of shoddy occupational health and safety but this is Thailand life's cheap

[JimHuaHin]

Yet again.

 

And how many Rama II construction "accidents" do not get media attention?

[webfact]

 

 

Pictures courtesy: Naew Na

[Rampant Rabbit]

I regularly use that road, its atrocious  way worse at night , badly lit, badly  signposted and whats often the case is  lorries hogging  the outside lane for the entire stretch when theres often plenty of room  for two vehicles. Its a disgrace...............only a  short while ago since a section fell on a  car  killing them wasnt it?

[bluemoonpattaya]

The site engineer needs a new calculator.

[lordgrinz]

2 hours ago, dinsdale said:

IMO to call this "an incident" is very much an understatement. 2 dead, 10 injured and 2 or 3 missing. This is a major collapse. I've lost count of how many "incidents" there have been on this particular construction. 

 

This whole project needs to be shutdown, investigated and safety checked, and probably hand this over to another contractor to handle if they find that is safe to proceed. Then sue the company handling this so far, enough is enough, this project has been a complete disaster.

[bluemoonpattaya]

I remember seeing one of these construction machines in action in Bangkok years ago, and it was a part owned Italian company. Is this the same company, or is this a Thai copy cat version ?

[Georgealbert]

UPDATE
More Deaths on Rama 2 Road Construction, Collapse Leaves Three Dead

 

Picture courtesy of SiamRath.

 

The incident unfolded early on the morning of November 29, when a steel beam, or “truss,” of the ‘form work traveller system’, used in the elevated road construction project on Rama 2 Road collapsed, leaving three workers dead and a dozen injured. The accident occurred around kilometre marker 21+100, near Mahachai Mueang Mai Market in Khok Krabue subdistrict, Mueang district, Samut Sakhon.

 

Reports confirm that 10 injured workers were initially rushed to nearby hospitals, with three workers confirmed dead at the scene, while two workers were  trapped under the debris. The rescue operation was hampered by  concerns over further collapses which delayed the clearing of the site and freeing the trapped workers, but they were safely rescued and taken to hospital.

 

A total of 39 workers, comprising both Thai nationals and migrant labourers, were on-site at the time of the incident. Authorities have identified all 37 individuals, including the injured and deceased, so now believe there are no further missing victims at the scene.

 

The incident happened as workers were nearing the end of their shift. They had nearly completed aligning concrete slabs for the elevated road deck, leaving final adjustments for the following day. Without warning, a loud noise signaled the collapse of the steel beam supporting the concrete slabs, which triggered a chain reaction, causing additional beams and concrete to fall.

 

Samut Sakhon Governor Narit Niramaiwong visited the scene alongside officials from the Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation (DDPM) and senior local authorities. He urged relevant agencies to expedite road clearance and ensure public safety. As a result, the express lanes of Rama 2 Road at the crash site have been closed in both directions, causing severe traffic congestion.

 

Officials estimate that clearing the debris and reopening the road will take approximately two days. Investigations into the cause of the collapse are ongoing, with authorities emphasising that the structural integrity of other sections of the elevated road remains unaffected.

 

 

-- 2024-11-29

 

 

[lordgrinz]

14 minutes ago, Georgealbert said:

authorities emphasising that the structural integrity of other sections of the elevated road remains unaffected.

 

Yes, I am sure everyone is relieved to hear that authorities feel everything is safe, makes me seriously question who these people are and maybe a deep dive into their finances should be carried out next.

[rolschu]

2 hours ago, JimHuaHin said:

Yet again.

 

And how many Rama II construction "accidents" do not get media attention?

132 dead since 2018 on this construction site 

[rolschu]

1 hour ago, bluemoonpattaya said:

I remember seeing one of these construction machines in action in Bangkok years ago, and it was a part owned Italian company. Is this the same company, or is this a Thai copy cat version ?

ItalThai is the name 

[rolschu]

1 hour ago, lordgrinz said:

 

This whole project needs to be shutdown, investigated and safety checked, and probably hand this over to another contractor to handle if they find that is safe to proceed. Then sue the company handling this so far, enough is enough, this project has been a complete disaster.

This project is already split between many different contractors. You can see this on the different color of the equipment. Would be interesting which company of those is responsible for the 132 dead workers since 2018 

[bluemoonpattaya]

33 minutes ago, Georgealbert said:

The incident happened as workers were nearing the end of their shift. They had nearly completed aligning concrete slabs for the elevated road deck, leaving final adjustments for the following day.

This would indicate that the weight of the concrete slabs was left hanging on the steel structure, because the shift had ended ? Not a good working practice in the grand scheme on safe engineering. Even though the steel structure should be able to take up this weight for this amount of time, The fact that it collapsed would indicate that the SWL of the steel structure has been surpassed. Is it possible that the weight of the concrete slabs have increased. we don't know, answers in a brown envelope please.. 😉

SWL = SAFE WORKING LOAD

[JeffersLos]

The elevated road of death. 

 

They need to hire monks to attach an amulet to each section to protect it from the evil spirits that are causing all this chaos and fatalities. The spirits are obviously not happy with it. 

[khunpin]

Thailand 🇹🇭 safety standards ... 🤦🏼‍♂️👎5555ๆ

[khunpin]

Just now, khunpin said:

Thailand 🇹🇭 safety standards ... 🤦🏼‍♂️👎5555ๆ

Oh. I hope I did not damage the world-class reputation of Thailand as a world-class holiday destination. 🤭

[Thumbs]

You drive down that road and thousand of safety first signs along the whole route think the owners of this construction company need to be investigated and made to face criminal charges as there is a death happening on a regular basis only makes the news now when multiple deaths or bystanders killed when something happens 

[Classic Ray]

Cheap and safe don’t go together, I wonder which method was used here?

[KireB]

As long as I've been in Thailand, more than 20 years, this road has been under construction. By the time it's gonna be

finished, they can start over again. 

[mdr224]

I had that fear while driving in bangkok sometimes. That cement pillars would just fall on top of me

[dddave]

2 hours ago, bluemoonpattaya said:

The site engineer needs a new calculator.

As long as Thailand persists in allowing 99% of heavy construction work to be done by illiterate, often migrant laborer's, supervised by like individuals with virtually no oversight, accidents like this will continue.  This incident is far from being the first of this type and it won't be the last. 

[wavodavo]

4 hours ago, dinsdale said:

IMO to call this "an incident" is very much an understatement. 2 dead, 10 injured and 2 or 3 missing. This is a major collapse. I've lost count of how many "incidents" there have been on this particular construction. 

what they need here is the CMFEU. Those radical idiots would sort this out.

[1happykamper]

Rama 2 construction ... Again? Who's the project manager for this disaster of a project. Sooooooooo long to complete this sht and so many dead or injured over the years. 

 

 

[wensiensheng]

17 minutes ago, Thumbs said:

You drive down that road and thousand of safety first signs along the whole route think the owners of this construction company need to be investigated and made to face criminal charges as there is a death happening on a regular basis only makes the news now when multiple deaths or bystanders killed when something happens 

Classic Thailand.

Put up a sign saying “safety first” and that’s it, job done in terms of health and safety.  Someone dies in an accident and the reaction is “but, but, but, we put up a sign. How could this happen?”

[Burma Bill]

3 hours ago, bluemoonpattaya said:

The site engineer needs a new calculator.

 

IMO the site engineer should be charged with manslaughter for not ensuring safety standards!