Report Substandard Rebar Found in Collapsed Bangkok Building's Construction

[newnative]

    To review, so far we have substandard rebar and the elevator walls reduced in thickness.  I suspect more will be found in this perfect storm of greed, corruption, incompetence, and mismanagement.  

[Doug F]

18 hours ago, worgeordie said:

You would think that there would be a Government dept , that would

do testing at the manufacturing plants ,to find inferior steel products

before it gets out into the market , than find it after the building has

fallen down , 

 

regards Worgeordie 

My question/concern is: Are there other buildings or structures at risk of catastrophic failure because of the substandard materials?

[Rhys]

18 hours ago, Will B Good said:

Whilst the focus has been on rebar quality, they still need to establish that the poor quality was the significant factor in the buildings collapse. What about construction, design, quality of concrete......are these all being looked at....or could that raise too many questions and put Thais rather than the Chinese in the search lights?

 

Sadly will the Thais find the proper fall guy?

[Dexxter]

19 hours ago, snoop1130 said:

The scrutiny of Xin Ke Yuan, a Chinese manufacturer operating in Thailand, has intensified.

 

It is time to investigate what other projects this Chinese company sold rebar to and check the quality of those builds. Hopefully there are no other high rise buildings constructed using their rebar.

[impulse]

There's a good, albeit preliminary, YouTube from a guy that did a lot of follow-up on the Florida condo collapse a few years back.  I can't link because YouTube is blocked here in China.  I downloaded it last week when I was in Thailand.  This isn't the complete title, but it can be used to search for the YouTube.  I'll be following the guy for updates on my monthly visits to LOS.  He goes pretty deep as the information becomes available.

 

Why Did Bangkok 33-Story Building COLLAPSE

[Gobbler]

20 hours ago, worgeordie said:

You would think that there would be a Government dept , that would

do testing at the manufacturing plants ,to find inferior steel products

before it gets out into the market , than find it after the building has

fallen down , 

 

regards Worgeordie 

You might also think there would be Thai Government Engineers who would approve construction using science instead of a greased palm. 

[cowellandrew]

15 hours ago, josephbloggs said:

...and their cars. And their high speed trains (which are light years ahead of American ones), their infrastructure, their space station, their computers, their bridges (unlike American ones which tend to fall down), their AI, their military, their synthetic biology, nanoscale materials, advanced communication technologies etc etc. You do need to read stuff that doesn't originate from Trump's mouth occasionally, you may be surprised. Or, shock horror, maybe even go to China and see for yourself how far advanced it is compared to the US.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/mar/02/china-leading-us-in-technology-race-in-all-but-a-few-fields-thinktank-finds

In the uk we are struggling to build 140 miles of high speed rail, China has 40,000 km built in ten years! And some of the bridges are amazing!

[Watawattana]

59 minutes ago, impulse said:

There's a good, albeit preliminary, YouTube from a guy that did a lot of follow-up on the Florida condo collapse a few years back.  I can't link because YouTube is blocked here in China.  I downloaded it last week when I was in Thailand.  This isn't the complete title, but it can be used to search for the YouTube.  I'll be following the guy for updates on my monthly visits to LOS.  He goes pretty deep as the information becomes available.

 

Why Did Bangkok 33-Story Building COLLAPSE

 

I'm in a bit of China where youtube still works...  Not sure if these are the ones you meant, but the content is quite interesting.  The 2nd one especially.

 

 

 

[Kenneth White]

I have experienced substandard materials from Chinese manufacturing. Don't blame and pointing a finger at Thailand; this is all China's fault. Steel is the backbone for any construction project, especially high-rise buildings.

[Gobbler]

3 hours ago, cowellandrew said:

In the uk we are struggling to build 140 miles of high speed rail, China has 40,000 km built in ten years! And some of the bridges are amazing!

Yeah, amazing. 

 

A notable incident involving a Chinese-built bridge collapsing shortly after its inauguration occurred in Kenya in 2017. The Sigiri Bridge, constructed by the Chinese Overseas Engineering Group (COVEC), collapsed just two weeks after being inspected by then-President Uhuru Kenyatta. The bridge was intended to connect communities across the Nzoia River in Busia County, enhancing transportation and local development.

The collapse happened during the final stages of construction, specifically while workers were removing the scaffolding. COVEC accepted responsibility for the incident, and the Kenyan government initiated reconstruction efforts. The bridge was eventually rebuilt and opened to the public. 

This incident raised concerns about the quality and oversight of infrastructure projects undertaken by foreign contractors, particularly in developing countries. It underscored the importance of stringent quality assurance measures and thorough inspections to ensure the safety and longevity of such critical structures.

[crazykopite]

Rebar should not even be used in such a tall building the main structure should be huge columns of steel supports both uprights and cross members those who designed the structure as well as those who passed the build along with government building inspectors have to share the blame for this tragedy it could of been worse had the building been completed and full of government staff  high rise structures should be made of substantial steel columns shamefully this wasn’t the case RIP to all those innocent people who perished due to the incompetence of all those involved in this build from architects , engineers planners and government building inspectors 

[josephbloggs]

23 minutes ago, crazykopite said:

Rebar should not even be used in such a tall building the main structure should be huge columns of steel supports both uprights and cross members those who designed the structure as well as those who passed the build along with government building inspectors have to share the blame for this tragedy it could of been worse had the building been completed and full of government staff  high rise structures should be made of substantial steel columns shamefully this wasn’t the case RIP to all those innocent people who perished due to the incompetence of all those involved in this build from architects , engineers planners and government building inspectors 

Tell that to the Burj Khalifa, Petronas Towers, Taipei 101 or any one of the other countless massive skyscrapers built around the world with steel (rebar) reinforced concrete.

[crazykopite]

8 hours ago, Kenneth White said:

I have experienced substandard materials from Chinese manufacturing. Don't blame and pointing a finger at Thailand; this is all China's fault. Steel is the backbone for any construction project, especially high-rise buildings.

 

8 hours ago, Kenneth White said:

I have experienced substandard materials from Chinese manufacturing. Don't blame and pointing a finger at Thailand; this is all China's fault. Steel is the backbone for any construction project, especially high-rise buildings.

Sorry I don’t agree all buildings built in Thailand have to go through a planning process which is controlled by the Thai government that’s why in every province their are government planning officers architects, engineers and building inspectors who should regulate building works during the building process right through until the final inspection. On top of this the structure for high rise builds shout be columns of steel supports and columns 

[Jing Joe]

On 4/22/2025 at 1:10 AM, proton said:

Everything Chinese is substandard apart from their phones

 

Yes Proton, right down to a $60 battery operated brush cutter I bought. I didnt really believe the ad but was far inferior when probing, like the tragic rebar here.

Claimed to be 7500Watts, 36V, 2000m/ah battery, 20,000 rpm but is actually:-

                          30 Watts,     18V, 1200m/ah battery, 10.000 rpm.

Beware of this gutless product.

It didnt collapse exposing the truth like the building. The motor burnt out and then was dismantled.      How do we NOT buy Chinese? buy - made in Thailand ! My Mitshubishi big aircon and Toyota are excellent.

P.S. one wonders about the building inspectors re the rebar.

 

[josephbloggs]

1 hour ago, Jing Joe said:

 

Yes Proton, right down to a $60 battery operated brush cutter I bought. I didnt really believe the ad but was far inferior when probing, like the tragic rebar here.

Claimed to be 7500Watts, 36V, 2000m/ah battery, 20,000 rpm but is actually:-

                          30 Watts,     18V, 1200m/ah battery, 10.000 rpm.

Beware of this gutless product.

It didnt collapse exposing the truth like the building. The motor burnt out and then was dismantled.      How do we NOT buy Chinese? buy - made in Thailand ! My Mitshubishi big aircon and Toyota are excellent.

P.S. one wonders about the building inspectors re the rebar.

 

You bought cheap, that is on you - what do you expect?

Buy a cheap underpriced AC and it won't be as good as your Mitsubishi and won't last as long. Don't blame a country for that.

[Kenneth White]

14 hours ago, crazykopite said:

 

Sorry I don’t agree all buildings built in Thailand have to go through a planning process which is controlled by the Thai government that’s why in every province their are government planning officers architects, engineers and building inspectors who should regulate building works during the building process right through until the final inspection. On top of this the structure for high rise builds shout be columns of steel supports and columns 

If what you say is true, how did China get substandard rebar past the Thai engineers?

[Will B Good]

5 minutes ago, Kenneth White said:

If what you say is true, how did China get substandard rebar past the Thai engineers?

 

Agree....rather a naive statement.....how do bridges collapse, cranes fall over, sections of U turn fall onto the motorway below, buses catch fire causing multiple horrific deaths.....the list goes on.

 

Even in supposedly tightly controlled situations in western countries people don't do their jobs properly.

[Dr B]

On 4/21/2025 at 10:03 PM, richard_smith237 said:

 

It is my understanding that the Office of the Auditor General (OAG) / State Audit Office is responsible for auditing government spending and ensuring that funds allocated for public infrastructure, including government buildings, are used appropriately and transparently. It investigates any irregularities or misuse of public funds.

 

The reason the building collapsed is ultimately due to corruption and misuse of public funds.

 

 

Depends what you mean by "ultimately". No building ever actually fell down becasue of corruption, and many buildings where corruption was involved are still standing. The main Thai levels of corruption are through the Government and bureaucratic channels, where the corruption "commission" is paid oave rand above the actual price for the purchase, out of Government funds i.e. taxpayers money. Buildings fall down for techncial reasons, and noting that some samples fail to meet the requirements of a prescribed standard is not a technical reason, unless it is also shown that the stress on the bar exceeded that test value. Corruption may be the excuse for a technical failure, but it doesn't make buildings collapse.

[Dr B]

On 4/22/2025 at 1:03 PM, impulse said:

There's a good, albeit preliminary, YouTube from a guy that did a lot of follow-up on the Florida condo collapse a few years back.  I can't link because YouTube is blocked here in China.  I downloaded it last week when I was in Thailand.  This isn't the complete title, but it can be used to search for the YouTube.  I'll be following the guy for updates on my monthly visits to LOS.  He goes pretty deep as the information becomes available.

 

Why Did Bangkok 33-Story Building COLLAPSE

I watched it through, and it is interesting, but the guy is not the right sort of engineer and misses several key points.

[impulse]

7 minutes ago, Dr B said:

I watched it through, and it is interesting, but the guy is not the right sort of engineer and misses several key points.

 

I watch the guy for the data, photos and videos, all collected in one place.  If his coverage is anything like the Florida condo collapse, he'll be posting updates as more info comes in.  In the case of Florida, that included the official reports, rebuttals from other parties, leaked memos, etc.

 

I'm not the right kind of engineer to judge any conclusions he may draw.  Mechanical engineers like me mostly deal with stuff that's supposed to move.

 

Edit:  Of course, he may not be as able to collate all the information here since he doesn't speak or read Thai.

 

[Dr B]

On 4/23/2025 at 12:14 AM, crazykopite said:

Rebar should not even be used in such a tall building the main structure should be huge columns of steel supports both uprights and cross members those who designed the structure as well as those who passed the build along with government building inspectors have to share the blame for this tragedy it could of been worse had the building been completed and full of government staff  high rise structures should be made of substantial steel columns shamefully this wasn’t the case RIP to all those innocent people who perished due to the incompetence of all those involved in this build from architects , engineers planners and government building inspectors 

What arrant nonsense. How do you think the Burj Khalifa is built?

[Dr B]

2 minutes ago, impulse said:

 

I watch the guy for the data, photos and videos, all collected in one place.  If his coverage is anything like the Florida condo collapse, he'll be posting updates as more info comes in.  In the case of Florida, that included the official reports, rebuttals from other parties, leaked memos, etc.

 

I'm not the right kind of engineer to judge any conclusions he may draw.  Mechanical engineers like me mostly deal with stuff that's supposed to move.

 

Understood, but he clearlu shows that the visible parts of the upper floors of the core were moving down en masse. This tells me that the failure is occurring from the very bottom. If you compare the whole building collpase with a controlled demolition, you will see amazing similarity. I have given a loner explanation but it was described as a diatribe so I won't repeat it.

[Dr B]

6 minutes ago, impulse said:

 

I watch the guy for the data, photos and videos, all collected in one place.  If his coverage is anything like the Florida condo collapse, he'll be posting updates as more info comes in.  In the case of Florida, that included the official reports, rebuttals from other parties, leaked memos, etc.

 

I'm not the right kind of engineer to judge any conclusions he may draw.  Mechanical engineers like me mostly deal with stuff that's supposed to move.

 

Not really relevant here, but the Florida condo collapse information had something vital missing. It was stated that there should have been beams connecting the tops of the columns and supporting the slabs, and these were not built. However there is no load shown on the pool deck in the video graphics, so no explanation as to why the columns should punch through.

[impulse]

3 minutes ago, Dr B said:

Understood, but he clearlu shows that the visible parts of the upper floors of the core were moving down en masse. This tells me that the failure is occurring from the very bottom. If you compare the whole building collpase with a controlled demolition, you will see amazing similarity. I have given a loner explanation but it was described as a diatribe so I won't repeat it.

 

The videos he posted did (IMO) show the whole building falling at a similar rate.  Which can only happen if it failed from the bottom.  So again, I'm tuned in for his data, not the analysis.

 

[richard_smith237]

2 hours ago, Dr B said:

Depends what you mean by "ultimately". No building ever actually fell down becasue of corruption, and many buildings where corruption was involved are still standing. The main Thai levels of corruption are through the Government and bureaucratic channels, where the corruption "commission" is paid oave rand above the actual price for the purchase, out of Government funds i.e. taxpayers money. Buildings fall down for techncial reasons, and noting that some samples fail to meet the requirements of a prescribed standard is not a technical reason, unless it is also shown that the stress on the bar exceeded that test value. Corruption may be the excuse for a technical failure, but it doesn't make buildings collapse.

 

Well, in that case it could simply be argued that an earth-quake made the building collapse...

 

While it's technically true that buildings collapse due to structural failure, it's a fallacy to separate technical causes from the corrupt systems that allow them to exist. Corruption isn't just about misappropriated funds - it directly shapes the conditions under which technical failures occur.

 

If inferior materials are used because someone took a bribe to overlook quality standards, or if inspections are signed off without being conducted, then corruption is no longer an abstract background issue - it becomes a root cause.

 

Numerous real-world cases prove this. For example, the 1995 collapse of the Sampoong Department Store in South Korea involved both technical failings and clear corruption: bribed inspectors allowed illegal modifications to the building's structure.

 

In Thailand and other countries with similar systemic issues, building codes are often robust on paper but routinely ignored in practice due to bribes and kickbacks. So while the rebar might snap or the concrete might crumble, the reason those materials were allowed to be used in the first place is corruption.

 

Saying “corruption doesn’t make buildings collapse” is like saying “cutting corners doesn’t cause accidents” - technically inaccurate and deeply misleading. Corruption is the invisible hand behind many visible tragedies.

 

 

Also, to address your question of why other buildings didn't fall: 

Just because corruption is widespread, it doesn’t mean every building is equally vulnerable. 

Some "corrupt" projects might involve only minor skimming - say, slightly cheaper materials that still meet minimum requirements. Others involve outright fraud, like omitting rebar altogether or ignoring design standards.

So, it’s a spectrum and this building was at the 'extreme' end of that spectrum - there were plenty of other building under construction that did not collapse, and this building (that did collapse) was clearly at the 'extreme' end of that spectrum, 'beyond the tipping point' so to speak - it might highlight how much poorer the structural standards were in that building compared to every other building in Bangkok.