On Wednesday, September 24th, around 7 a.m. local time, a massive sinkhole suddenly appeared on a road in the center of Bangkok, Thailand, causing damage to nearby public facilities and disrupting traffic. Fortunately, there were no casualties reported.
The sinkhole, which was as deep as 50 meters and covered an area of 900 square meters, appeared in front of Vajira Hospital in central Bangkok.
According to the Bangkok Post, authorities have not confirmed the cause of the collapse. Bangkok Mayor Chadchart Sittipunt stated that the sinkhole is located above the construction site of the Vajira Hospital metro station, at the intersection of the tunnel and the station.
Authorities have indicated that outpatient services at the hospital have been temporarily suspended, and approximately 3,500 hospitalized patients have been evacuated to safe areas. Preliminary investigations have shown that the hospital building itself was not damaged.
Local Thai media reported that significant flooding occurred on the road in front of the hospital around 6:30 a.m., followed by the first collapse of the road surface after 15 to 20 minutes. A second, larger collapse occurred less than 5 minutes later. The situation rapidly deteriorated within just 30 minutes.
Images shared on social media showed the road sinking slowly due to burst drainage pipes, causing water to gush out and pulling down electrical poles.
Thai Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul told Reuters that “soil from the metro construction slid into the hole, fortunately without causing any casualties.”
Mayor Chadchart said, “The hospital is functioning normally, but we are concerned about the nearby police station, which remains very dangerous. The public has been evacuated from that area.”
During the road collapse, Aman Jansongphon, who was working nearby, stated that she heard a loud sound and then came out to see the entire road collapsed, looking very frightening.
Authorities have stated that they are closely monitoring the movement of soil at the site and have formed a special team for assessment and preparedness. Currently, there are no signs of further collapsing ground.
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