At least five dead after road collapses during construction in Thailand
An under-construction road has collapsed in Bangkok, killing at least five people, officials have said.
The incident took place in the early hours of Saturday morning in the southwest of the Thai capital.
Another 24 people were injured at the construction site, transport minister Suriya Jungrungreangkit said.
No road users were affected, as nearby traffic lanes were closed at the time.
He added that the dead were four workers and an engineer.
Mr Jungrungreangkit also offered his condolences and said the victims would be compensated by contractors and relevant agencies.
Bangkok police chief Siam Boonsom said an investigation into the cause of the collapse was ongoing, and authorities would take legal action against those responsible.
The construction of the three-mile (5km) elevated road began in 2022, according to information on the Expressway Authority of Thailand website.
Surachet Laophulsuk, governor of the agency, said it was now working to clear the debris as quickly as possible, but warned it might take as long as a week.
The contractors working on the project have been suspended for 14 days pending the investigation.
The site of the collapse was part of a major road linking Bangkok to Thailand's south.
However, the wider project has been a subject of controversy over its prolonged construction and frequent fatal accidents.
Mr Jungrungreangkit said the transport ministry was trying to issue new regulations that would suspend contractors found liable of such accidents, and blacklist them from future government projects.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Spectator
2 days ago
- Spectator
Hamas doesn't hold a monopoly on Palestinian terror
Israeli forces operating inside Gaza have retrieved the body of Thai agricultural worker Nattapong Pinta, bringing to a close one of the many grim and unresolved chapters from the October 7th atrocities. In a joint operation by the Shin Bet and the IDF, based on intelligence gleaned from captured militants, the body was recovered in Rafah. Pinta had been abducted alive from Kibbutz Nir Oz during the Hamas-led assault, only to be murdered in captivity by a lesser-known but no less brutal Palestinian terror group: Kataeb al-Mujahideen. Among the cascade of horrors unleashed that day, one of the most harrowing sights remains etched in my memory. It was a real-time video, circulated by Palestinian terrorists themselves, showing two men in civilian clothes from Gaza, jostling to capture the perfect angle as they filmed the slow, grotesque beheading of a barely living Thai worker writhing on the ground.
Belfast Telegraph
2 days ago
- Belfast Telegraph
Israel says its military has retrieved body of Thai hostage from Gaza
The country's prime minister's office said on Saturday that the body of Thai citizen Nattapong Pinta was returned to Israel in a special military operation. The announcement comes as Israel continues its military offensive across the strip, killing at least 95 people in the past 24 hours, according to Gaza's health ministry. Mr Pinta was kidnapped from Kibbutz Nir Oz and killed in captivity near the start of the war, said the Israeli government. This comes two days after the bodies of two Israeli-American hostages were retrieved. Fifty-five hostages remain in Gaza, of whom Israel says more than half are dead. Israel's defence minister said on Saturday that Mr Pinta's body was retrieved from the Rafah area. He had come to Israel from Thailand to work in agriculture. The army said he was taken into Gaza by the Mujahideen Brigades, the small armed group that it said had also abducted and killed Shiri Bibas and her two small children. It is also the same group that took the two Israeli-American hostages, Judih Weinstein and Gad Haggai, whose bodies were retrieved by the army on Thursday. Israel said it found Mr Pinta's body based on information received from the hostage taskforce and military intelligence. A statement from the hostage forum, which supports the hostages, said it stands with Mr Pinta's family and shares in their grief. It called on the country's decision makers to bring home the remaining hostages and give those who have died a proper burial. Thais were the largest group of foreigners held captive by Hamas militants. Many of the Thai agricultural workers lived in compounds on the outskirts of southern Israeli kibbutzim and towns, and Hamas militants overran those places first. A total of 46 Thais have been killed during the conflict, according to Thailand's Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Before Mr Pinta's body was retrieved, three Thai hostages remained in captivity and two were confirmed dead. The fate of Mr Pinta was uncertain until Saturday, according to the hostage forum. The retrieval of Mr Pinta's body comes as Israel continues its military campaign across Gaza. Hospital officials said they received the bodies of nearly two dozen people on Saturday. Four strikes hit the Muwasi area in southern Gaza between Rafah and Khan Younis. In northern Gaza, one strike hit a flat, killing seven people including a mother and five children. Their bodies were taken to Shifa hospital. Israel said on Saturday that it is responding to Hamas's 'barbaric attacks' and is dismantling its capabilities. It said it follows international law and takes all feasible precautions to mitigate civilian harm. Hamas-led militants killed some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, in the October 7 attack and abducted 251 hostages. They are still holding 55 hostages, around a third of them believed to be alive, after most of the rest were released in ceasefire agreements or other deals. Israeli forces have rescued eight living hostages from Gaza and recovered dozens of bodies. Israel's military campaign has killed more than 54,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children, according to the Gaza Health Ministry, which does not distinguish between civilians and combatants. The offensive has destroyed large parts of Gaza and displaced around 90% of its population of roughly two million Palestinians.
ITV News
2 days ago
- ITV News
Israel says it has retrieved the body of Thai hostage from Gaza, says defence minister
Israel says it has retrieved the body of a Thai hostage kidnapped into Gaza on October 7, 2023, as it continues its military offensive across the strip, killing at least 22 people overnight, according to health officials. The prime minister's office said that the body of Thai citizen Nattapong Pinta had been returned to Israel in a special military operation. Pinta was kidnapped from Kibbutz Nir Oz and killed in captivity near the start of the war, said the government. This comes two days after the bodies of two Israeli-American hostages were retrieved. Fifty-five hostages remain in Gaza, of whom Israel says more than half are dead. The defence minister said that Pinta's body was retrieved from the Rafah area. He had come to Israel from Thailand to work in agriculture. The army said he was taken into Gaza by the Mujahideen Brigades, the small armed group that it said had also abducted and killed Shiri Bibas and her two small children. It's also the same group that took the two Israeli-American hostages, Judih Weinstein and Gad Haggai, whose bodies were retrieved by the army earlier this week. Israel said it found Pinta's body based on information received from the hostage task force and military intelligence. A statement from the hostage forum, which supports the hostages, said it stands with Pinta's family and shares in their grief. It called on the country's decision makers to bring home the remaining hostages and give those who have died a proper burial. Thais were the largest group of foreigners held captive by Hamas militants. Many of the Thai agricultural workers lived in compounds on the outskirts of southern Israeli kibbutzim and towns, and Hamas militants overran those places first. A total of 46 Thais have been killed during the conflict, according to Thailand's Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Before Pinta's body was retrieved, three Thai hostages remained in captivity and two were confirmed dead. The fate of Pinta was uncertain until today, according to the hostage forum. The retrieval of Pinta's body comes as Israel continues its military campaign across Gaza. Hospital officials said they received the bodies of nearly two dozen people on Saturday. Four strikes hit the Muwasi area in southern Gaza between Rafah and Khan Younis. In northern Gaza, one strike hit an apartment, killing seven people including a mother and five children. Their bodies were taken to Shifa hospital. Israel said that it's responding to Hamas' 'barbaric attacks' and is dismantling its capabilities. It said it follows international law and takes all feasible precautions to mitigate civilian harm. Hamas-led militants killed some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, in the October 7 attack and abducted 251 hostages. They are still holding 55 hostages, around a third of them believed to be alive, after most of the rest were released in ceasefire agreements or other deals. Israeli forces have rescued eight living hostages from Gaza and recovered dozens of bodies. Israel's military campaign has killed more than 54,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children, according to the Gaza Health Ministry, which does not distinguish between civilians and combatants. The offensive has destroyed large parts of Gaza and displaced around 90% of its population of roughly 2 million Palestinians.
