Pathum Thani building collapse kills 3, traps 7

[Kf6vci]

RIP. The worst concrete work I ever saw was a dorm for a hospital. Let's investigate this thoroughly as there might have been greed the cause of this tragedy. Let's start with an analysis of the concrete...

[ratcatcher]

"....there might have been greed the cause of this tragedy."

 

Not in this country mate.

[jacko45k]

...........It was unclear what caused the accident..........

 

Shoddy workmanship and cutting corners leap into mind!! 

 

Probably getting thunderstorms daily there......
 

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

Same kind of thing earlier this year with a hospital building under construction in Samut Prakan...10+ dead and more injured.

 

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/706909-samut-prakan-at-least-two-workers-killed-several-others-injured-in-building-collapse/

[doremifasol]

I hate to bring this up but I wonder if the person recording this VDO knew about what was going to happen.

It looks like she was waiting for the building to collapse.  Was the whole thing staged?

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Hd7Ms87Azg

 

RIP to the victims, this is very sad.

Edited August 12, 2014 by doremifasol

[Rorri]

attrayant, on 11 Aug 2014 - 21:54, said:

 

apetley, on 11 Aug 2014 - 21:19, said:

 

ratcatcher, on 11 Aug 2014 - 21:07, said:

Of course there is an explanation as to why a mother and her baby were on a construction site?

Not at all unusual for whole families to live onsite.

 

"Not unusual" is not really a satisfactory explanation of why whole families are allowed to live on construction sites.

 

No one said it was a "satisfactory" explanation, but the fact is it is a fact.

[Rorri]

Deacon Bell, on 11 Aug 2014 - 21:57, said:

 

attrayant, on 11 Aug 2014 - 21:54, said:

 

apetley, on 11 Aug 2014 - 21:19, said:

 

ratcatcher, on 11 Aug 2014 - 21:07, said:

Of course there is an explanation as to why a mother and her baby were on a construction site?

Not at all unusual for whole families to live onsite.

 

"Not unusual" is not really a satisfactory explanation of why whole families are allowed to live on construction sites.

 

 

Usually they will live off the site. 

 

And inside unfinished buildings.

[MaxLee]

I hate to bring this up but I wonder if the person recording this VDO knew about what was going to happen.

It looks like she was waiting for the building to collapse.  Was the whole thing staged?

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Hd7Ms87Azg

 

RIP to the victims, this is very sad.

 

Mai pen rai, just a few migrant workers and victims less,....   

 

The obvious reasons as usual: cheap materials acquired from "made in China" which guarantee only one type of safety:

 

FACE SAFE(TY)

[ebean001]

You expats seem to be all the same. Thais are dumb and your country people are smart. Maybe so but my house was built by Thais. They had women and babies at the site. They lived at the site. They did a totally fantastic job. The house is about 5000 sq ft. The only problems in 5 years is the electric front gate (nothing to do with the builders) and a toilet that kept flushing (after 4 years the problem developed) - hummmm. The number of cracks in the concete has been almost 0. My new house in Virginia had gapping holes in the dry wall after 1 year. huge gapping holes. All countries have problems especially if there is a lot of development. Check out the new Yankee stadium concrete. Based on the huge amount of construction in Thai this is problem within the tolerance of problems. I could be wrong but - again - they did great work on my house.

[LuckyLew]

Come on guys. Its not the construction sites fault. This is thailand
It was one of the taxis outside fault although they cant be sure who was the driver. God rest their souls for the dead and i hope they dont find more. I also hope a real investogation lands someone in jail and leaves the company paying the poor families and the medical bills

Sent from my GT-S5310 using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

 

It was not the taxi drivers fault,it was the fault of the farang passenger who had too much weight in his suitcase

RIP to those who left too early

[oldsailor35]

 

Very sad, the thought of people still alive under it right now as we sit here typing, in agony with crushed limbs and bones, trapped, struggling to breath, drowning on concrete dust, unable to move, dying, an awful experience.

Do you suffer so graphically for all the people in the world who are suffering as much, or more than these trapped workers? Your life must be hell. Do you believe your empathy helps them in any way? The ONLY positive thing you can do in a situation like this is send money for taking care of the families who lost their breadwinners or for covering medical bills. 'Feeling bad', or even sad, does NOTHING.

 

Makes me 'shudder' when i see such crap along with the RIP brigade all trying to sound so pious

[rametindallas]

I think, with large buildings such as this, professional engineers are responsible for specifying and supervising every detail of the construction process.  They should be held liable for the consequences of any structural failures.  Building inspectors can only visit to check things periodically and can easily miss hidden flaws.  

 

Here in Thailand we had an engineer design our house but he thought his job ended there.  It took a lot of pressure to get him out to the building site to check what the contractor was doing.  It was my impression at that time that the concept of "building inspector" was unheard of.

Realistically speaking, the one way to put a stop to this needless death and suffering is to hold building inspectors personally responsible for any injuries/damage causes by their 'overlooking' violations. Sometimes they overlook the violations of safety and building codes because they are lazy and sometimes because they are bribed. In the end, it doesn't matter why they didn't adequately do their jobs; they need to do some serious prison time as a lot of lives are at stake if they don't do their jobs well.

 

I don't know where, exactly, the various responsibilities lie. I have had many dealing with building inspectors (commercial) in both Dallas and New Orleans and they, not the architects nor engineers, are the ones responsible to test if the concrete has the right 'slump' (consistency/strength), that materials match the code specifications, etc.. I remember that after the 'Santika' night club fire, there was a lot of criticism of the code enforcement and building inspectors in the BMA, so I just assumed they were the last line for safety. Also a hotel had illegally added some floors that got 'overlooked'. In any case, it is a matter of public safety and shouldn't be left to the responsibility of the contractor to get the engineers (who are in their pay) to guarantee safety. Obviously, whatever system is in place is not sufficient.

[jonclark]

Scary thing is from the news on TV this morning it appears that at least three other condo blocks of exactly the same design (and probably materials) have been completed and are occupied right next to the collapsed building - The person with the dashboard camera lives in one!

 

 

[rametindallas]

You expats seem to be all the same. Thais are dumb and your country people are smart. Maybe so but my house was built by Thais. They had women and babies at the site. They lived at the site. They did a totally fantastic job. The house is about 5000 sq ft. The only problems in 5 years is the electric front gate (nothing to do with the builders) and a toilet that kept flushing (after 4 years the problem developed) - hummmm. The number of cracks in the concete has been almost 0. My new house in Virginia had gapping holes in the dry wall after 1 year. huge gapping holes. All countries have problems especially if there is a lot of development. Check out the new Yankee stadium concrete. Based on the huge amount of construction in Thai this is problem within the tolerance of problems. I could be wrong but - again - they did great work on my house.

I agree. By US standards, high-rise construction if built at least twice as strong. Maybe a safety factor built in to compensate for contractors cutting corners. In the US, the margin if about 40% stronger that expected need. Better engineering and less margin for error. Also, I think concrete is a little cheaper in Thailand.

[Old Man River]

These sites are totally f***ked.....slum living conditions....the cheapest of materials....and no-one in charge that has any idea of what's required to build a building safely.....everything they do on these so called "condo" projects is crap...we all see it every day!
God help Thailand if the authorities ever decide to enforce the rules!!!

Well summed up.

The problem is cheap labour and poor if any skills.

I have yet to see a building inspector in Thailand.

Nothing in the country is built properly or designed to last.

The only country I have seen where things are even worse is India.

Very poorly summed up.

"I have yet to see a building inspector in Thailand." Where have you been looking? Frequently found at building sites.

"Nothing in the country is built properly or designed to last." Wildly inaccurate generalisation

A hospital being built in Samut Prakarn collapses with workers killed and a few months later this project collapses with workers killed. If the building inspectors are on site, what are they looking at?


Sent from my iPad using Thaivisa Connect Thailand

[oldsailor35]

I think, with large buildings such as this, professional engineers are responsible for specifying and supervising every detail of the construction process.  They should be held liable for the consequences of any structural failures.  Building inspectors can only visit to check things periodically and can easily miss hidden flaws.  

 

Here in Thailand we had an engineer design our house but he thought his job ended there.  It took a lot of pressure to get him out to the building site to check what the contractor was doing.  It was my impression at that time that the concept of "building inspector" was unheard of.

Realistically speaking, the one way to put a stop to this needless death and suffering is to hold building inspectors personally responsible for any injuries/damage causes by their 'overlooking' violations. Sometimes they overlook the violations of safety and building codes because they are lazy and sometimes because they are bribed. In the end, it doesn't matter why they didn't adequately do their jobs; they need to do some serious prison time as a lot of lives are at stake if they don't do their jobs well.

 

Yes , every detail should be checked, there should be a team with this responsibility, but it does not happen. A visit to site will probably find one guy in thongs giving orders but no really qualified construction engineers. This is typical Thai neglect. I have worked on "High rise" buildings in Brisbane and the Gold Coast for 30 years  and never seen anything like this  catastrophe. Always checks and balances every part of the way., with regular site meetings, Engineers, Architects,Inspectors,Foreman and other responsible persons. I would be surprised if the fore mentioned persons would bother to attend in Thailand.

[featography]

Of course there is an explanation as to why a mother and her baby were on a construction site?

 

Of course there is. Theres no safety laws in Smileland. Families are allowed to romp and play among the workers.

Don't you know that?!?!
 

[featography]

 

 

Very sad, the thought of people still alive under it right now as we sit here typing, in agony with crushed limbs and bones, trapped, struggling to breath, drowning on concrete dust, unable to move, dying, an awful experience.

Do you suffer so graphically for all the people in the world who are suffering as much, or more than these trapped workers? Your life must be hell. Do you believe your empathy helps them in any way? The ONLY positive thing you can do in a situation like this is send money for taking care of the families who lost their breadwinners or for covering medical bills. 'Feeling bad', or even sad, does NOTHING.

 

Makes me 'shudder' when i see such crap along with the RIP brigade all trying to sound so pious

 

 

For God's sake dont tell him about the thousands of children and babies being beheaded in the middle east. He.ll lose it for sure

 

[lvr181]

 

Very sad, the thought of people still alive under it right now as we sit here typing, in agony with crushed limbs and bones, trapped, struggling to breath, drowning on concrete dust, unable to move, dying, an awful experience.

Do you suffer so graphically for all the people in the world who are suffering as much, or more than these trapped workers? Your life must be hell. Do you believe your empathy helps them in any way? The ONLY positive thing you can do in a situation like this is send money for taking care of the families who lost their breadwinners or for covering medical bills. 'Feeling bad', or even sad, does NOTHING.

 

A nice and realistic thing to do to help BUT merely patches over the reality of what and why it happened.

 

Perhaps now is an opportune time for he NCPO (or its agencies) to investigate, assess why it happened, punish (and I mean PUNISH because they caused deaths) those who allowed it to happen and bring in stricter rules - and police those rules - to avoid this happening again in the future? What a wonderful opportunity for the NCPO to show the Thai people that they really do care about everyday occurrences and not just politics.

[Benmart]

Of course there is an explanation as to why a mother and her baby were on a construction site?

Seems very common. Here in Pattaya, off of Soi 15, one ten-story, building site had entire families living inside the unfinished building as it went up.

Children could be seen running about inside the shell after hours and one dad was a frequent visitor with a baby in his arms.

No safety mananger on site as far as I could determine, after walking past it during months of construction.

[lvr181]

 

A hospital being built in Samut Prakarn collapses with workers killed and a few months later this project collapses with workers killed. If the building inspectors are on site, what are they looking at?


Sent from my iPad using Thaivisa Connect Thailand

 

 

Looking at their bank balances perhaps?  Just speculation on my part.

[Benmart]

Of course there is an explanation as to why a mother and her baby were on a construction site?

 
Of course there is. Theres no safety laws in Smileland. Families are allowed to romp and play among the workers.
Don't you know that?!?!
 

There are plenty of worker safety laws.

The Bureau of Occupational Safety and Health (under the Department of Labour Protection and Welfare, Ministry of Labour) is the main authority responsible for OSH matters and ILO related activities in Thailand.

Education, inspection and enforcement is the missing link, as it is in so many other areas.

[Sparkles]

 

These sites are totally f***ked.....slum living conditions....the cheapest of materials....and no-one in charge that has any idea of what's required to build a building safely.....everything they do on these so called "condo" projects is crap...we all see it every day!

God help Thailand if the authorities ever decide to enforce the rules!!!

Well summed up.

 

The problem is cheap labour and poor if any skills.

 

I have yet to see a building inspector in Thailand.

 

Nothing in the country is built properly or designed to last.

 

The only country I have seen where things are even worse is India.

 

Simply not true.How many 1000's of high rise buildings are there in the city of Bangkok and have been for decades?

 

One building collapses,for reasons we do not know, and they are all bad...yeah right.............Stupid,ill informed comment.

[oldsailor35]

 

 

 

Very sad, the thought of people still alive under it right now as we sit here typing, in agony with crushed limbs and bones, trapped, struggling to breath, drowning on concrete dust, unable to move, dying, an awful experience.

Do you suffer so graphically for all the people in the world who are suffering as much, or more than these trapped workers? Your life must be hell. Do you believe your empathy helps them in any way? The ONLY positive thing you can do in a situation like this is send money for taking care of the families who lost their breadwinners or for covering medical bills. 'Feeling bad', or even sad, does NOTHING.

 

Makes me 'shudder' when i see such crap along with the RIP brigade all trying to sound so pious

 

 

For God's sake dont tell him about the thousands of children and babies being beheaded in the middle east. He.ll lose it for sure

 

 

Check again, but i think that those  "babies" were soldiers !  

[circusman]

These sites are totally <deleted>.....slum living conditions....the cheapest of materials....and no-one in charge that has any idea of what's required to build a building safely.....everything they do on these so called "condo" projects is crap...we all see it every day!

God help Thailand if the authorities ever decide to enforce the rules!!!

I guess you have researched this accident 100% in order to come up with your pronouncements of the causes.

[Benmart]

You expats seem to be all the same. Thais are dumb and your country people are smart. Maybe so but my house was built by Thais. They had women and babies at the site. They lived at the site. They did a totally fantastic job. The house is about 5000 sq ft. The only problems in 5 years is the electric front gate (nothing to do with the builders) and a toilet that kept flushing (after 4 years the problem developed) - hummmm. The number of cracks in the concete has been almost 0. My new house in Virginia had gapping holes in the dry wall after 1 year. huge gapping holes. All countries have problems especially if there is a lot of development. Check out the new Yankee stadium concrete. Based on the huge amount of construction in Thai this is problem within the tolerance of problems. I could be wrong but - again - they did great work on my house.

The two opening sentences of your post discredited the remainder IMO. Had you left out the first three sentences, the post could have delivered the objective points.

Women and babies may have been on your site as stated. Had they been injured or killed while on site, perhaps the financial and criminal responsibility would have made the story much different.

[belg]

is it one of those cases, built for x amount of stories and the "owner" deceides" to put a few more stories to increase the money in his pocket, even when the structure is not made or calculated for that kind of weight ?

 

good it collapsed now and now when its full of students

[Benmart]

 

These sites are totally f***ked.....slum living conditions....the cheapest of materials....and no-one in charge that has any idea of what's required to build a building safely.....everything they do on these so called "condo" projects is crap...we all see it every day!
God help Thailand if the authorities ever decide to enforce the rules!!!

Well summed up.
 
The problem is cheap labour and poor if any skills.
 
I have yet to see a building inspector in Thailand.
 
Nothing in the country is built properly or designed to last.
 
The only country I have seen where things are even worse is India.
 

Simply not true.How many 1000's of high rise buildings are there in the city of Bangkok and have been for decades?
 
One building collapses,for reasons we do not know, and they are all bad...yeah right.............Stupid,ill informed comment.

Calling someone's post "stupid" questions the validity of your post. Calling it "ill informed" made the point well enough IMO. Edited August 12, 2014 by Benmart

[Local Drunk]

The collapse starts at about 1:50. The far left corner  is pulled towards the inside of the structure and then is jerked to a stop as a huge plume of debris is ejected from the the bottom floor toward the street. The building then collapses to the street's left pulling the rest of the structure down.  What ever failed is outside of the camera's view, but what ever triggered it started on the viewer's right an the street's left. 

 

Very sad...  The workers should really have some kind of union to protect them. Perhaps they should all go on strike until safety concerns are standardized and enforced. Accidents will always happen... but buildings do not fall down by accident. 

 

 

[Benmart]

 

These sites are totally <deleted>.....slum living conditions....the cheapest of materials....and no-one in charge that has any idea of what's required to build a building safely.....everything they do on these so called "condo" projects is crap...we all see it every day!
God help Thailand if the authorities ever decide to enforce the rules!!!

 
What is a "so called" condo project, is there a difference between a condo and a so called condo?
 
 

 
Stupid question....but anyway, I'll play your game....
Go and have a look inside one these buildings....you'll very soon realise that what they call "condos" are nothing more than a very small room with a tiny crapper room.......something they can cram as many people in as possible.

Leaving out from "Stupid" to "game" could have made the response more credible.

Using the word "stupid", when refering to another's post, often has a boomerang effect.