3 Missing, 23 Injured After Food Pavilion Collapses into Mae Klong River

BANGKOK – Twenty-three people were hurt and three were missing after a riverside food pavilion collapsed into the Mae Klong river district during lunch hour on Tuesday.

The popular old food pavilion stood beside a ferry pier near Wat Phet Samut Worawihan, until the entire structure slid down the bank and into the river about 12.45pm.

It is thought that the pavilion could not withstand the weight of a large number of people and collapsed.

According to the Bangkok Post the food pavilion was well-known Talad Rom Hub in tambon Mae Klong in Samut Songkhram just 79 kilometers southeast of Bangkok.

Rescue workers rushed to the scene, pulled 23 injured people from the river and sent them to a local hospital.

The injured included a girl and a boy, according to the local branch of the Public Relations Department.

Divers were searching for two women and a schoolboy who were reported missing.

They were identified as Mrs Sureeporn Urachuen, Miss Pornpilai Suealek and Khao Tu, a student at Wat Pom Kaew School in Muang district.

The Muang municipal office set up a disaster response centre at its auditorium to help victims from the collapsed river side food pavilion.

The Mae Klong River Market

Mae Klong Railway Market (Hoop Rom Market) is a local market in Samut Songkhram Province, commonly called Siang Tai (life-risking) Market.

It is considered one of amazing-Thailand attractions in the province.

The Mae Klong River has the largest basin in the western region and the third largest in Thailand.