Chinese Company Under Investigation After Bangkok Skyscraper Collapse

A Chinese-backed contractor is under investigation following the collapse of a 33-story skyscraper in Bangkok during Friday’s earthquake, Sarah Newey reported for The Telegraph.

Despite Bangkok’s skyline being filled with construction sites, no other buildings suffered similar structural failures. I Photo: mapconcierge Wikimedia Commons

The unfinished building’s glass facade crumbled to the ground in a massive cloud of smoke and dust, trapping dozens of people beneath the rubble when a 7.7-magnitude earthquake struck central Myanmar, approximately 800 miles from the Thai capital.

Despite Bangkok’s skyline being filled with construction sites, no other buildings suffered similar structural failures.

So far, eight bodies have been recovered from the ruins, while an estimated 50 people remain missing.

In Myanmar, the earthquake caused widespread destruction, with the death toll already surpassing 1,600. Meanwhile, in Bangkok, rescue teams struggled in 36°C (97°F) heat to reach trapped construction workers, as anxious friends and family gathered nearby.

Questions are mounting about the structural integrity of the collapsed skyscraper. “Something was wrong, definitely,” said Prof. Suchatchavee Suwansawas, a civil engineer and politician from Thailand’s Democrat Party, in an interview with The Telegraph.