Five Workers Injured In Bangkok Commercial Building Collapse, Emergency Teams Secure The Site

Bangkok, Thailand— Five construction workers were injured Saturday when scaffolding on a commercial high-rise tore away and collapsed in central Bangkok.

The failure happened at 10:15 a.m. on October 25, 2026 at a 32-story office tower under construction in the Chatuchak district. The scaffold, which covered floors 18 to 22, buckled outward. Steel pipes, wooden planks and netting fell onto the podium and the street below.

Workers were on the scaffold pouring concrete for a facade bracket. Witnesses said they heard a loud crack, then saw the outer frame sway. Three men rode the structure down two floors before it jammed against a lower deck. Two others were struck by falling debris while working at ground level.

Thai DDPM said all five were conscious when rescue teams reached them. Two suffered leg fractures and head injuries. Three had lacerations and suspected spinal trauma. They were taken to two nearby hospitals. None were in critical condition as of early afternoon, but two remained under observation.

Bangkok Metropolitan Administration ordered an immediate stop-work order for the entire site. Engineers from the contractor and the building owner were summoned. Initial checks pointed to overloaded material on a cantilever section and loose anchor bolts on the 20th floor.

"This was not wind. The connections failed," a district safety officer said. "We found anchor points pulled straight out of the concrete slab. Load was concentrated on one side."

The Bangkok Post reported that the project had received two prior warnings this year for scaffold overloading and missing guardrails. The contractor disputed the record, saying the warnings were corrected. Labour Ministry inspectors are now reviewing payroll logs to confirm safety training for the injured crew.

Debris closed Phahonyothin Road’s inner lane for three hours. Pedestrians were rerouted. Power to a neighboring shophouse row was cut as a precaution when a pipe pierced a temporary electrical feed.

By 4 p.m. the remaining scaffold hung at an angle, tied off with emergency cables. A crane was on standby but no removal was attempted until a structural engineer signs off.