Bangkok to review quake safety after collapse of high-rise leaves dozens missing

Thai authorities said Monday they are investigating why a single office tower under construction in Bangkok collapsed during an earthquake Friday that otherwise caused limited damage in the capital.

Bangkok Governor Chadchart Sittipunt visited the site as heavy equipment pulled away rubble from the 30-story building in hopes of finding survivors among the 78 people still missing.

He said it is most urgent to first concentrate on finding whoever might be saved. “Even one life saved is worth all the effort, so I think we have to move on, carry on,” he said.

But in the longer run it’s important to ensure building safety in the city, which has millions of people living and working in thousands of high-rise buildings. The magnitude 7.7 quake centered more than 800 miles (1,200 kilometers) away killed more than 1,700 people in Myanmar and at least 18 in Thailand, most at the Bangkok construction site near the popular Chatuchak Market.

“What’s important in the long-term and medium-term, I think we need to find the root cause so at least we can learn some lessons and improve building regulations,” he said. “In the end, we will have some results that will improve safety in Bangkok.”

Shares in the property developer handling the project, Italian Thai Development, sank 27% on Monday as questions were raised about the high-rise’s design, enforcement of construction safety codes, and the state-run Chinese contractor building the structure, the State Audit Office building.

Interior Minister Anutin Charnvirakul, whose family owns one of Thailand’s largest construction conglomerates, told reporters he ordered an investigation committee to be set up and to report the results back to him within seven days.

He pointed to three possible factors: the designer, the inspectors or the builders.

“We will definitely find the true reasons as to why this building has collapsed, because it’s all scientific,” Anutin said.

Although it does not sit near a geologic fault, Bangkok is built on relatively unstable alluvial soil, on the banks of the Chao Phraya River. The city has long been sinking under the weight of its many tall buildings, leading authorities to restrict the use of groundwater to help reduce subsidence.

The Myanmar quake Friday gave the city an unusually long and strong jolt, causing water from rooftop pools to cascade down skyscrapers, light-rail trains to rock on their tracks, and millions of people to flee homes and apartment buildings. Many people waited for hours to see if their homes and offices were safe.

Most other damage in the city appeared to be superficial, such as fallen ceiling panels and fittings and cracked plaster.