Cover image via Stay In Thailand (Facebook)
Follow us on Instagram, TikTok, and WhatsApp for the latest stories and breaking news.
A massive sinkhole, measuring 30 metres wide and 50 metres deep, opened up in Bangkok's Dusit district on Wednesday, 24 September, causing evacuations and a traffic shutdown in the Thailand capital
The incident occurred at approximately 6.30am in front of Vajira Hospital on Samsen Road, according to the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration.
The sinkhole swallowed two electricity poles and a forklift truck, reported Bernama.
In response, Dusit district authorities immediately closed traffic from the Vajira intersection to the Sanghi intersection, and patients from the hospital as well as nearby residents were swiftly evacuated. Crucially, authorities confirmed that no injuries have been reported in the incident.
The sinkhole occurred at the construction site for the new Vajira MRT station
Bangkok's governor, Chadchart Sittipunt, told Thai media that a leak in a tunnel at the site caused the collapse, with a burst water pipe also cutting power lines, according to CNA.
While a video circulating on social media showed the road caving in, pulling down electricity poles and causing sparks that prompted nearby people to flee, Thai Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul offered a crucial point of relief, stating, "Luckily, there are no deaths or injuries".
Photos of the scene revealed a white pickup truck precariously parked at the very edge of the sinkhole, which also exposed the underground piling of the hospital. The incident reportedly caused severe traffic congestion, with queues of vehicles stretching for several kilometres.
