Four Dead In Flood-Related Saraburi Apartment Collapse

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Four dead in flood-related Saraburi apartment collapse

SARABURI, Sept 12 - Four people were killed after a two-storey apartment caved in following heavy downpours in Saraburi, rescue workers are searching for 3 others believed to be trapped in the ruins.

Persistent rain and flooding have saturated the soil, and are believed to have contributed to the building's collapse.

The incident occurred in Takaosan subdistrict of Saraburi's provincial seat after flash floods hit several areas of this central province.

Initial reports said 3 persons are trapped under the fallen building.

Rescue efforts face difficulties as the level of floodwater is high.

Several vehicles parked in front of the apartment are heavily damaged. Gas odors are flowing from natural gas-powered vehicles, raising concerns for fire safety hazards.

Saraburi is one among many provinces hit by Thailand's current torrential rains and flash floods. (MCOT online news)

-- TNA 2011-09-12

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FLOODS

Block of shophouses in Saraburi collapses

A block of three-storey shophouses collapsed in Saraburi's Muang district on Monday morning, killing four people and wounding one person. Five others are still missing.

Saraburi Governor Thavorn Prommechai said the block of three-storey buildings in Moo 3 village in Tambon Pak Khaosarn collapsed at 7:30am. Four bodies had been retrieved and five people remain missing. One severely injured person has been rescued and sent to Saraburi Hospital, he added. Thavorn also inspected the scene and noted that the three-storey buildings had been turned into a ten-room dormitory.

Police suspected the soil became soft after three days of heavy rains leading to the land subsiding, said Muang Saraburi superintendent Pol Col Bamrung Khongcheep. Police also summoned the dormitory owner for information and checked the building plan and dormitory permit.

Meanwhile the flood-related death toll has risen to 82 on Monday as 16 provinces are being hit by massive flooding, the Disaster Prevention and Mitigation Department announced Monday.

Srisombat Pornprasit, deputy director-general of the department, said 570,142 people from 217,189 families in 2,949 villages in 16 provinces were suffering from flooding.

He said the provinces are Sukhothai, Phichit, Phitsanulok, Nakhon Sawan, Ayutthaya, Angthong, Chainat, Ubon Ratchathani, Singburi, Nakhon Pathom, Suphan Buri, Nonthaburi, Chachoengsao, Uthai Thani, Chanthaburi and Saraburi.

He said 35 provinces nationwide had heavy rainfalls so the residents of the provinces should be on alert of possible flash floods.

The provinces, which were warned of possible flash floods, included Tak, Kamphaeng Phet, Phichit, Phetchabun, Lopburi, Uthai Thani, Buri Ram, Surin, Si Sa Ket,, Mukdaharn, Roi Et, Kanchanaburi, Prachin Buri, Sakaew, Rayong, Chanthaburi, Trat, Surat Thani and Ranong.

-- The Nation 2011-09-12

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UPDATE

4 killed, 1 hurt in building collapse

By The Nation

Saraburi

At least four people died when a row of three-storey shophouses collapsed at 7:30am yesterday after three days of heavy rain in Saraburi's Mueang district.

One person was seriously hurt, government officials said late yesterday.

Governor Thavorn Prommecha, who inspected the building, which had been modified into a 10-room dormitory, in Tambon Pak Khaosarn, said four bodies were retrieved while five people were trapped inside.

The four bodies were identified as those of public health official Wilasinee Janda, 38; factory worker Chonlada Saneha, 24; Rarin Reunrenu, 28; and her daughter, Rawinwipa Prasesang, 4.

Rarin's husband Sitthichai Prasesang, 28, a cell-phone vendor, was rescued and reported in stable condition at Saraburi Hospital. All of the dead and injured were reportedly second-floor tenants.

As they tried to remove Sitthichai from the debris, rescue workers were struck by the scene of the deceased Rarin hugging her young daughter. Sitthichai, who couldn't move to save his family, was reportedly so overwhelmed with grief that he at first refused to take oxygen from the rescue workers.

Thavorn said three of the four deceased were breadwinners, so each family would receive Bt50,000 in assistance, while Bt25,000 would be paid as compensation for the child's death.

A committee would be formed to determine the cause of the accident, he said.

Public Health Minister Witthaya Buranasiri said medics from the Saraburi, Kaeng Khoy and Nong Khae hospitals were dispatched to treat the injured.

Aree Krainara, secretary to the interior minister, also viewed the damage and gave moral support to the rescue effort.

The three days of downpours might have softened the soil and caused the land under the building to subside, said Colonel Bamrung Khongcheep, superintendent of Mueang Saraburi Police Station.

Forensic police would examine the scene, while landlady Saowanee Siripattananon, 58, would be summoned for questioning and the blueprints and dormitory permit would be checked, Bamrung said.

The building was reportedly only one year and four months old.

Police, along with officials from the Engineering Institute of Thailand (EIT), would today summon construction engineers. The EIT officials would also inspect the building to determine if its design or structure was a factor in its collapse.

Chiang Mai Governor Panadda Diskul assigned a team to inspect tall buildings and apartments in the city area, especially along the Ping River, for fear of a tragedy like the Saraburi case.

-- The Nation 2011-09-13