BANGKOK (ANN/THE NATION) – A large section of the road spanning three traffic lanes was temporarily obscured by metal sheets, a necessary measure to conceal an excavated area resulting from an ongoing underground power line installation project.
However, what was intended as a temporary precaution took a chaotic turn when a truck, laden with soil from a nearby construction site, found itself lodged in a gaping hole that unexpectedly formed beneath the sheets.
The driver, despite the vehicle’s precarious position, asserted that it had adhered to the stipulated weight limit. Amidst this dramatic scenario, two motorcyclists bore the brunt of the road’s collapse, their collision with the unstable surface leading to injuries.
Police were advising motorists to avoid the area while they try to pull the truck out. Traffic was backed up for several kilometres as of press time.
Bangkok governor Chadchart Sittipunt arrived at the scene at around 1pm, and ordered an immediate halt to the power line project underneath until the cause has been found and the road fixed.
This is the second accident to be caused by sinkholes on Bangkok roads this week.
On Monday night, a Toyota Fortuner fell into a hole on Chaturathit Road near the Si Ayutthaya intersection in Ratchathewi district.
Luckily, only the front half of the vehicle had fallen into the opening and the SUV and its driver could be pulled up by a crane. Nobody was injured in this accident.
Police said the 1.5-metre-wide, 6m-long and 8m-deep hole had been covered by a concrete sheet, which collapsed under the vehicle’s weight. The hole is part of the city’s project to construct underground cesspits leading to Makkasan Swamp.
