Thai Court Issues 17 Arrest Warrants Over Skyscraper Collapse

Hadisur Rahman, JadeTimes Staff

H. Rahman is a Jadetimes news reporter covering Asia

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Image Source: Getty Images

A court in Thailand has issued 17 arrest warrants for individuals connected to the construction of a 30-storey skyscraper that collapsed during an earthquake in March, killing at least 89 people.

The warrants were issued to people involved in the design, construction, and building supervision of the tower, which was being built to house the State Audit Office in Bangkok. Police named one of the individuals as businessman Premchai Karnasuta, a former president of Italian-Thai Development PLC, one of Thailand's largest construction firms.

The collapse of the tower occurred on March 28, when a 7.7 magnitude earthquake struck neighboring Myanmar, causing widespread damage and loss of life. The earthquake was felt in Bangkok, where the tower was under construction, and caused significant damage to the building.

According to local media reports, investigators have found structural flaws in a lift shaft in the building, which may have contributed to the collapse. However, Thai authorities have yet to release their findings into the cause of the building's collapse.

The tower had been under construction for three years at a cost of more than two billion Thai baht ($59m; £45m) before it was reduced to rubble. More than 400 workers were at the site when it collapsed, and a massive rescue effort was launched to search for survivors.

Drones, sniffer dogs, cranes, and excavators were brought in to help with the rescue effort, but unfortunately, many lives were lost. The earthquake that hit Myanmar on March 28 caused the deaths of more than 3,000 people and injured more than 4,500, with tremors felt elsewhere, including in Thailand and south-west China.

The collapse of the tower has raised concerns about the safety of buildings in Thailand, particularly in the capital city of Bangkok. The government has promised to investigate the cause of the collapse and to take action to prevent similar incidents in the future.