Regional News
10 Workers Dead, 17 Injured in Hospital Construction Collapse
BANGKOK – Authorities in Samut Prakan’s Bang Pli district have reported that 10 workers died and 18 others were injured when a large concrete beam collapsed on Tuesday at a hospital construction site just outside Bangkok.
Two of the injured were in a critical condition in hospital, said Apiwat Kasorn of the Bang Phli police, a district in the province bordering Bangkok.
Most of the bodies had now been pulled from rubble at the construction site for a public hospital, although one of the dead workers was yet to be retrieved.
“Seven workers died at the scene and four died in hospital,” Apiwat said, adding the victims were both Thais and migrant workers.
A team of volunteer rescuers put the death toll at 10 as of Tuesday afternoon, adding they were using a digger to remove debris in the search for more bodies.
“There were 40 workers on site at the time of the collapse, now we have stopped searching as I’m confident we have retrieved all of the bodies,” said rescue worker Anyawaut Pho-ampai.
The accident took place at about 11.30am, police said, adding that the building was being constructed on the road lining the Suvarnabhumi irrigation canal.
Labour groups have warned about lax safety standards and low wages at Thai construction sites, especially for migrant workers from Myanmar, Cambodia and Laos, who are often paid below the country’s minimum daily wage of $9.2.
