2025 Bangkok skyscraper collapse

On 28 March 2025, a still under-construction building intended for the State Audit Office collapsed in Bangkok, Thailand, following a major earthquake that originated in Myanmar. It resulted in 29 confirmed worker deaths and 33 injuries, while 77 remained unaccounted for as of 31 March. Already topped-out, the building was 30% complete and, at the time of collapse, undergoing piping and glass wall installation.
The skyscraper, located on Kamphaeng Phet Road, next to Krung Thep Aphiwat Central Terminal and near the Chatuchak Weekend Market in Bangkok, was 33 stories tall, with a height of 137 m or 449 ft, prior to the collapse. Construction had started in 2020 and the building topped out in April 2024 as per the China Railway No.10 Engineering Group. The contractors were Italian-Thai Development under the supervision of China Railway Engineering Corporation. At the time of the earthquake, the glass facade and internal installations were being added. The construction budget was 2.136 billion baht (USD 63 million).
On 28 March 2025 at 12:50:52 MMT (06:20:52 UTC), a Mw 7.7 earthquake struck the Sagaing Region of Myanmar, with an epicenter close to Mandalay, the country's second-largest city. The strike-slip shock achieved a maximum Modified Mercalli intensity of IX (Violent). Despite Bangkok being located more than 1,000 kilometers from the epicenter, heavy shaking was felt in the city due to the supershear nature of the seismic rupture and Bangkok's soft soil amplifying the energy released by the earthquake, which led to the collapse.
Thai defense minister Phumtham Wechayachai initially stated that "at least three people were killed in the building collapse and 90 were missing". Search-and-rescue operations at the site are underway. Several bodies were recovered. A total of more than 100 others, mostly labourers, were believed to have been trapped under the rubble, with that number being reduced to 79 the following day. At least eight people were later confirmed killed and 68 people were taken to nearby hospitals, while 15 others trapped beneath rubble were reported to be alive. Rescue workers brought in excavators to start combing the site for survivors. Excavators were dredging piled-up soil and a crane was deployed to remove debris. Some of the victims of the collapse were believed to be migrant workers from Myanmar.
Following the earthquake, Thai Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra visited the site of the collapse on the evening of 28 March and ordered the formation of a committee of experts to investigate the collapse within a week. On 2 April, she visited the site again and met with relatives of the collapse victims. On 4 April, Bangkok's Governor, Chadchart Sittipunt, apologised for delays in rescue efforts.
The United States deployed personnel to assist in rescue efforts at the site. The Israeli embassy also sent a scanning device that was used to search for survivors.
Local authorities started investigations into "the construction quality, materials used, and whether building codes for earthquake resilience were adequately followed." On 30 March, Industry Minister Akanat Promphan said at an on-site news conference that "anomalies" had been found in the steel and samples taken. On 31 March, a man was arrested for falsely claiming that his wife was trapped in the building.
In the People's Republic China, online discussion on the collapse of the building was censored in the same way as commentary on other Tofu-dreg projects.
Thailand's Ministry of Industry later said that one of the steel bars used in the collapsed National Audit Office building was substandard and came from a Chinese company in Thailand. The company providing it had been ordered to close since December 2024.