Construction Crane Collapses Onto Busy Bangkok Intersection, Killing Two Pedestrians, Crushing Cars, Motorbikes, Shops

Bangkok, Thailand— A construction crane collapsed onto a busy intersection in central Bangkok Thursday morning, killing two pedestrians and crushing cars and motorbikes as the arm slammed into traffic during rush hour.

The collapse happened around 9:40 a.m. local time at the Rama IX and Ratchadapisek intersection, one of the capital's busiest, according to Bangkok Post and police. A tower crane on a 40-story condominium construction site toppled over, its jib falling 150 meters onto the road below. Two pedestrians waiting to cross were struck and killed instantly.

At least four other people were injured, including two motorbike riders who were hit by debris. Six vehicles, including a city bus, were damaged. Dashcam footage showed the crane swaying, then falling slowly before crashing, sending a cloud of dust and metal across the intersection. Traffic stopped in all directions.

"The boom came down like a tree, no warning," a motorcycle taxi driver told Reuters. "People ran, but those on the crosswalk had no time. The crane was too big, too close to the road."

Bangkok's construction boom has outpaced safety enforcement, with dozens of high-rises going up simultaneously in central districts. The Bangkok Metropolitan Administration said initial inspection found the crane's base bolts had sheared, possibly due to overloading and inadequate anchoring in soft ground. The site had been cited last month for operating without a certified crane supervisor.

The contractor, a major Thai developer, said it would cooperate with investigators and suspend all crane operations on its sites pending inspection. The Labor Ministry said it would audit all tower cranes in the city, more than 300 units, many of which are old and poorly maintained.

Residents in the area said they had complained for months about the crane swinging loads over the intersection and over a school across the street, a practice banned by city ordinance but rarely enforced. The district office said it had received two complaints but had not acted.

The intersection was closed until late afternoon as engineers cut the crane into pieces and removed it with mobile cranes. Power lines were torn down, causing outages in nearby office buildings. Commuters were diverted, creating gridlock across eastern Bangkok.

Police filed charges of negligence causing death against the site engineer and crane operator, who were detained for questioning.

The bodies were removed by midday, but the intersection's asphalt was still gouged where the jib hit.

The tower's empty mast stood above the site, swaying slightly.