BANGKOK: The under-construction Dao Khanong Expressway Bridge collapsed onto Rama II Road in Bangkok’s Chom Thong district at 1.48am on Saturday (March 15).
Initial reports confirm seven fatalities and many injuries. Authorities are searching for about 30 people believed to be trapped under the debris.
Police officers at Bang Mod Station were notified of the incident near Soi 25 and the entrance to the Dao Khanong Expressway on Rama II Road in the Bang Mod subdistrict of Bangkok’s Chom Thong district.
Officials from the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration’s Disaster Prevention and Mitigation Department and the Poh Teck Tung Foundation were already on the scene when the police arrived.
Officials said a concrete beam structure for the new bridge, which is under construction, collapsed onto the existing expressway bridge located about 200 meters from the toll booth. The new bridge is part of the Rama III – Dao Khanong Expressway project.
Authorities are searching for missing and deceased individuals trapped under the collapsed structure.
The operation is being carried out methodically and with caution, as there is a risk of further collapse due to unstable structures.
The Disaster Prevention and Mitigation Department has brought specialized tools and search dogs to assist in the search and rescue.
As of the latest update, the confirmed death toll stands at 7, with 16 injuries and about 30 people still trapped under the debris.
An aerial view reveals widespread damage around the collapsed structure, completely severing the expressway, which is a key route to Bang Mod, Bang Khun Thian, and Chom Thong districts.
Chom Thong Burana Road, which connects to Rama II Road at the construction site, is also completely blocked in all lanes as emergency crews continue their search and rescue operations.
A news source reported that the collapsed structure is the same type as the elevated expressway that collapsed on Rama II Road in November of last year.
It is a large steel framework designed to support concrete beams and form part of the bridge structure.
Investigations into the cause of the collapse are still ongoing. - The Nation/ANN
