BANGKOK– A massive sinkhole has opened up on Samsen Road, right in front of the well-known Vajira Hospital, startling residents and authorities in Bangkok. The collapse, about 30 metres wide and just as long, drops almost 50 metres into the ground.
It happened at 7:13 AM this morning and continues to grow, forcing evacuations and raising safety concerns for nearby buildings, including the Samsen Police Station. Authorities confirm no injuries so far, but more than 200 people had to leave the area as the earth remains unstable.
Witnesses described the incident as terrifying, as a deep rumble swept through the area, followed by pavement cracking and falling away. Somchai Boonmee, a motorbike taxi rider who was near the site, watched cars and people vanish as the road disappeared.
“One moment people were walking, then a huge hole swallowed everything. I ran,” he said. Social media videos show cars on the edge before they are towed away, heavy dust in the air, and emergency sirens sounding.
Early findings point to ongoing work on the new MRT Purple Line at Vajira Station as a likely cause. This stretch of Samsen Road has been important to the community for over a century and is closely associated with the hospital’s history.
Vajira Hospital, opened in 1912 under King Rama VI, cares for hundreds of thousands of patients each year, especially in heart, cancer, neurology, kidney, and injury care. Today, its future hangs in the balance.
The ground continues to slip. Bangkok Governor Chadchart Sittipunt reached the site shortly after the collapse with officials, including Deputy Governor Wisanu Subsompon, the Dusit District Director, disaster response staff, and hospital leaders. Wearing a helmet, Governor Chadchart looked into the crater and called for a full response.
“This is serious. We are using all our resources,” he said at a morning briefing. Engineers have taped off much of the street, and the hospital and police station now have concrete barriers shielding them. Soil movement is being closely watched.
Though no one was hurt, the pressure on local services is rising. Hospital leaders quickly moved outpatients and non-critical inpatients to nearby hospitals, such as Siriraj Hospital. “We moved over 200 outpatients and 50 inpatients within an hour,” said Dr Anong Sukprasert, Vajira’s director.
The trauma centre is ready for emergency cases connected to this incident. Samsen Fire and Rescue, located close to the hole, worked quickly to seal off the area, using cranes, diggers, and sniffer dogs to secure the scene.
Four nearby buildings have suffered damage. Two residential blocks, including a three-storey apartment building with 15 families, are badly cracked and leaning, leading to total evacuations. “My house is tilting. We had to leave everything,” said Priya Nguyen, a resident.
The other two buildings, one a small shop and the other an office, have minor cracks but remain open under close watch. City engineers have marked the unsafe buildings, and repairs could cost millions of baht.
This disaster comes as Bangkok faces repeated problems with its infrastructure. In March, an elevated road on Rama II Road collapsed, killing five people and injuring 24. Just months earlier, a new tower fell after a Myanmar earthquake, killing 92 and showing how weak the city’s soil can be.
Dr Supachai Tangwongsan, an urban planning expert, voiced concern: “Bangkok is growing fast, but our soil is unstable. Large construction, heavy rain, and old pipes make things worse, as we see with this sinkhole.”
The MRT Purple Line extension, spanning 23 kilometres, is meant to help tackle the city’s traffic problems by 2027 and carry half a million commuters a day. But some say the fast building pace and poor soil studies have caused new risks.
The Mass Rapid Transit Authority has stopped work at Vajira Station as experts review the soil. The Governor has promised a full, independent investigation and has offered 10 million baht in emergency support for displaced families.
Tonight, strong lights shine down on the giant hole, with crews re-routing power and water lines that dangle over the edge. Traffic now squeezes onto smaller roads, causing long delays. Samsen Road, a peaceful gateway to royal quarters, now sits in ruins, its calm lost to chaos underground.
At a nearby evacuation centre, Boonmee sips his coffee and reflects. “No one got hurt this time. That’s lucky. But how long can we stay lucky?” For Vajira Hospital, a symbol since King Rama VI, this has become a warning: Bangkok must reinforce its foundations or risk seeing its progress disappear below the ground.
