Cutting corners can cost lives, survivor says: Pathum Thani condo collapse

[webfact]

Cutting corners can cost lives, survivor says
THANAPAT KITJAKOSOL
THE NATION



PATHUM THANI: -- GIVING FIRST-HAND accounts about how the U Place condominium in Pathum Thani collapsed on Monday, a survivor said it began with a sling suspended between two top storeys breaking during cement-filling work, which resulted in the entire six-storey structure caving in, killing at least 11 workers.

A Cambodian migrant worker, Art, 20, who lost a brother in the accident, said the workers had been working in a hasty manner before the collapse, as instructed by the foremen, and they occasionally had to work through the night, without sleep.

He no longer wanted to work in Thailand but could not yet afford to return home, as he needed to pay Bt3,000 for his travel back home, after already paying Bt3,000 for his illegal entry through Sa Kaew province.

Art said he saw his brother Imkrua fall from the top floor to the ground, where he was buried by the rubble. His body was recovered yesterday. Art said no assistance had been given to him or other Cambodian workers, who were summoned for information by Thai labour authorities.

Free rice was later provided and cooked for Cambodian workers who survived the collapse.

Imkrua's widow, Tachia, said she had only a Bt20 banknote left, as the employers had postponed the pay three times - from August 5 to August 8, and to August 11, the day of the collapse. There are three other Cambodian workers, all relatives, who are still unaccounted for.

"They are all dead, I suppose. I only wait to see their bodies recovered," she said, in tears.

Tachia said Imkrua had worked in Thailand for six months - for Bt370 a day - before she followed him three months ago - to work for Bt220 a day, after giving birth to a baby girl, whom she raised at the site.

Charn, 38, another Cambodian worker, called for the immediate settlement of unpaid wages from employers, and echoed Tachia and Art on the non-provision of money or other assistance from Thai labour authorities.

Admitting to being an unregistered worker and therefore an illegal immigrant, Charn said he feared not receiving any money or assistance. He called on Thai authorities to send him and fellow Cambodian workers home and pleaded with the employers to pay them the leftover wages.

Anchisa Krongphloy, a relative of four Thai workers and foremen who had been trapped in the rubble, said they all told her about hasty work, but she was unsure whether it was the cause of the collapse.

She said she had seen part of the body of her brother, Klairung Thabkhornburi, which had not been recovered.

Anchisa said even the Thai victims of the tragedy had been offered no assistance by authorities, nor had they contacted her and the other 10 relatives who stayed at the site. There is only an offer by private charities to deliver bodies of the four relatives to their home province of Buri Ram free of charge.

As of yesterday, eight bodies had been retrieved from the rubble and three remained trapped under the debris.

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/national/Cutting-corners-can-cost-lives-survivor-says-30240975.html

[thenation]2014-08-15[/thenation]

[EnzoRippo]

This is how Thai see ASEAN: you despise the neighbors, you obliged them to be illegal, you squeeze their brain and their bodies without any salaries then you through them away without giving compensation but you can fine the relatives. Then you complain that the foreigners "don't understand" Thai generosity and human rights handling.

[BSJ]

Not a good deal for the workers who survived!  The construction company should be doing a better job of looking after their workers.

[meatboy]

farmers working on construction sites,who wouldn't have a clue what sand,cement and water gives a good concrete mix.

its only 2-3months ago we had to get the pillars on our house[5bed] seen to,cracks were appearing from the ceiling to the floor,and when we investigated the cause the pillers were almost empty of concrete.architect said it was caused by ground movement.i gave him a BIG BULL SHIT COMMENT.

[noitom]

The Thai press interviews an illegal worker  , 20, for this critical interview post disaster.

[hanuman2543]

"Art said no assistance had been given to him or other Cambodian workers, who were summoned for information by Thai labour authorities."

 

Says it all. The other members should kick Thailand out of ASEAN.

[ramrod711]

Free rice was later provided and cooked for Cambodian workers who survived the collapse.

 

Fortunately, the country has tons of rice to spare, otherwise they would get nothing.

[englishoak]

How very typical 

[SanSaiExPat]

I'm sure the other Condo Structures that have not collapsed are perfectly safe and sound.  It wouldn't make any sense for the Thai building authorities to inspect those structures, would it?    I for one will be standing in line to buy one of those condos when they are finished.  How about you guys?  A real deal at 4.5 million baht and all the free rice you can eat when your unit falls down. 555

[Aldebaran1981]

Another example of xenophobia?
My heart goes out to the migrant workers who passed away.
So often it's the case that migrant workers help build a nation and yet, they are the ones who are mistreated and disrespected.
What a sad truth!

[Pib]

farmers working on construction sites,who wouldn't have a clue what sand,cement and water gives a good concrete mix.

its only 2-3months ago we had to get the pillars on our house[5bed] seen to,cracks were appearing from the ceiling to the floor,and when we investigated the cause the pillers were almost empty of concrete.architect said it was caused by ground movement.i gave him a BIG BULL SHIT COMMENT.

"Ground movement/sinking" is a common excuse given, when in fact the builder just didn't prepare a proper foundation, didn't sink support columns far enough into the ground, etc.  

[2fishin2]

And Thais are all up in arms and so confused as why the BIG countries are picking on the for human rights abuses? How dare they? They have no right to say anything, they dont know Thai. Mr Kerry you dont know anything "shut up." Mixing concrete on the ground by hand vs using proper machines an correct mixtures. Using "concrete blocks" that weigh less than a laptop computer. What is a level? 3rd world would better than what these people do


Sent from my iPad using Thaivisa Connect Thailand Edited August 15, 2014 by 2fishin2

[Sena Dave]

Its the same with foreign workers in all Asian countries. Malaysia use a lot of Bangladeshi and Burmese mainly though agencies. They earn about 150 usd a month. Malays especially will not work for the money , they won't work full stop actually

 

We have had 8 fatalities on this project over 6 years 7 being foreign workers. Sadly its taken for granted and in many cases the poverty stricken family way back in Bangladesh are bought off for a few hundred dollars. Its the same everywhere here

[assayer]

I'm sure the other Condo Structures that have not collapsed are perfectly safe and sound.  It wouldn't make any sense for the Thai building authorities to inspect those structures, would it?    I for one will be standing in line to buy one of those condos when they are finished.  How about you guys?  A real deal at 4.5 million baht and all the free rice you can eat when your unit falls down. 555

 

The same owners, contractors, and builders have already finished three others using the same specs and materials.

Am I missing something here? Or should the others be condemned?

[Robby nz]

Not a good deal for the workers who survived!  The construction company should be doing a better job of looking after their workers.

 

The owner of the construction company has shot through, to Cambodia it is said.

 

Posted Yesterday, 16:09

Overseers of Collapsed Building That Kills 10 Deny Responsibility

 

Chanaichol Kerdthes, owner of Plook Plang construction company.

 

Ms. Pensri, Mr. Saksith, and Mr. Diew surrendered themselves to the police yesterday, but police say Mr. Boonyakorn and Mr. Jira are still at large, while Mr. Chanaichol has already fled to Cambodia to escape the charge.

 

So not much chance of them getting paid from him.

 

Could try his father who is an ex MP, but doubt he would pay up either.

[Halion]

This whole tragic, yet frequent story line merely represents the true nature of this country where exploitation, greed, corruption and a total disregard for safety are the staple ingredients for the majority of projects.

[ratcatcher]

 

Not a good deal for the workers who survived!  The construction company should be doing a better job of looking after their workers.

 

The owner of the construction company has shot through, to Cambodia it is said.

 

Posted Yesterday, 16:09

Overseers of Collapsed Building That Kills 10 Deny Responsibility

 

Chanaichol Kerdthes, owner of Plook Plang construction company.

 

Ms. Pensri, Mr. Saksith, and Mr. Diew surrendered themselves to the police yesterday, but police say Mr. Boonyakorn and Mr. Jira are still at large, while Mr. Chanaichol has already fled to Cambodia to escape the charge.

 

So not much chance of them getting paid from him.

 

Could try his father who is an ex MP, but doubt he would pay up either.

 

Sonny boy fled the scene and dad's doing porridge in a Thai jail, as you probably know, for murder. Sweet family.

 

[NCC1701A]

yes watching the condo building boom boom going on in Hua Hin and seeing the huge use of red bricks for walls and pencil thin vertical supports on 20 story tall condos is terrifying.

 

If there was to be a real earthquake...     

Edited August 15, 2014 by NCC1701A

[NCC1701A]

and what about the people who bought their condos off plan? I wonder if they will see any of their money?   

[trogers]

farmers working on construction sites,who wouldn't have a clue what sand,cement and water gives a good concrete mix.
its only 2-3months ago we had to get the pillars on our house[5bed] seen to,cracks were appearing from the ceiling to the floor,and when we investigated the cause the pillers were almost empty of concrete.architect said it was caused by ground movement.i gave him a BIG BULL SHIT COMMENT.

"Ground movement/sinking" is a common excuse given, when in fact the builder just didn't prepare a proper foundation, didn't sink support columns far enough into the ground, etc.  

Most building projects of this kind have separate contractors for piling and building works.

[trogers]

yes watching the condo building boom boom going on in Hua Hin and seeing the huge use of red bricks for walls and pencil thin vertical supports on 20 story tall condos is terrifying.
 
If there was to be a real earthquake...     

Then we can have redevelopment...

[Zeegator]

The Thai press interviews an illegal worker  , 20, for this critical interview post disaster.

 

Well observed.  Any reason a worker at the site shouldn't be interviewed?  What does his age have to do with anything?
 

[Choonpon]

If the developer is human, he should do what is right for the victims and their families. Human lives were lost because of cutting costs. Murderer!

[Assurancetourix]

 

The Labour ministry have said many times.... 'get registered legally and you have rights'. They chose to take their chances.

 

It is as simple as that.

 

 

 

No !

They never choose;

They cannot choose ;

 

If they want to registered they will not have a work because the thai people who want they work for them must pay them the same income as a thai people....

It's so simple to understand ..

 

We have the same  illegal workers in Europe ; everywhere, all the occidental countries...

if they want to register nobody will want to give them a work....Too expensive...

 

Look what happend to 28 Bangladeshi strawberry pickers in Greece ; they were shot when they asked for their wages -- and a Greek judge just cleared two of the attackers of all charges.

[zaphod reborn]

A lot of fault, which no one mentions, belongs to the Labor Ministry, and its department of industrial safety.  They don't inspect these types of worksites, because the owners have no tea money for them.  Instead, they pick on the big boys, as its easy to extract bribe money from them.  The truly dangerous work conditions are prevalent in these low budget, money scrimping worksites, while the big boys substantially comply with the safe workplace regulations.  As long as these type of work sites are free from regulation, unsafe conditions will always exist.

[chainarong]

I am afraid that the building code is just that, in code and nobody knows how to unravel the code, my place and the rest of the estate where I am  would fall down tomorrow if a quake shake of say 5 hit  Phitsanulok , after watching them build over five years,  one comment comes to mind, Christ. 

[slygeeza]

on a similar note I know of a hotel in Pattaya that employs only foreign workers, wont pay them until they have been there 3 months, and fires them before the 3 months is up. free labor altho the quality of staff is not great

[elgordo38]

Dear EnzoRippo

This will be the modus opporendi world wide in 20 years. The rich will get super rich and the rest will be kicked to the curb once they cannot pull an oar. With more people living longer and robots and increased under educated under employed populations human dignity will collapse into a struggle to survive. 

[lostmebike]

As well as cheap labour, I bet the materials used are completely substandard too, Hardly any cement or stone in the concrete mix, too thin re-bar, all compounded with dodgy construction techniques.  

I have often wondered how much of Thailand would be left standing if it were to suffer earthquakes like the nations near the Pacific Ring of Fire.

[soalbundy]

"Art said no assistance had been given to him or other Cambodian workers, who were summoned for information by Thai labour authorities."

 

Says it all. The other members should kick Thailand out of ASEAN.

You think they are better ??? This is the Asian mindset,reminds me of the conditions in the UK during the industrial revolution.It took the courage of hundreds of thousands of workers and their leaders to change things and now the bankers are trying to turn the clocks back