BANGKOK Governor Chadchart Sittipunt said today (Oct. 4) that Samsen police station which is on the edge of a massive sinkhole that opened up on Sep. 24 would have to be demolished as it has been sinking with Mass Rapid Transit Authority of Thailand (MRTA) and the contractor to shoulder the over 40 million baht cost, PPTVHD 36 said.
This followed a visit to the site by Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul at 10 p.m. last night during which he instructed the team to carefully monitor this police station as it has been sinking. This morning a committee of technical working groups from police, MRTA, Bangkok Metropolitan Administration’s Public Works Department and the contractor held a meeting on this issue.
Approximately 3,000 cubic metres of sand had been filled in the sinkhole and additional piles installed to support the police station as its fifth pile, which is the main weight-bearing one, had snapped through a landslide during the massive cave in and the third pile too later got damaged.
This led to the technical committee reassessing the situation this morning and it was concluded that if the police station is not demolished now, there would be obstacles in filling the sinkhole with there being a risk of the building collapsing during repairs.
Chardchart issued six orders this morning with these being removing 30 vehicles from Samsen police station and begin drilling at the building’s rear wall; start partial demolition from the far right which is a high-risk area to reduce weight; strengthen the side of the sinkhole next to Vajira Hospital to prevent further landslides; reinforce the underground tunnel; follow up to see how stable police flats area; and monitor the stability of Vajira Hospital.
Implementation of these six steps started this morning with completion date and time subject to change as safety is the priority.
The date to reopen this road, earlier scheduled for Oct. 9, has been extended indefinitely but as schools are currently closed this is not a critical traffic issue.
Other surrounding buildings are currently safe, particularly Vajira Hospital which has not moved at all with monitoring equipment verifying this but all buildings around the sinkhole have still to be constantly watched.
The current heavy rain is not a significant obstacle at the work site because relevant agencies have installed an adequate number of water pumps.
Meanwhile Mr. Kittikorn Tanpao, MRTA’s deputy governor, said that it cannot yet be concluded what caused the damage with relevant agencies currently expediting restoration of road surface and surrounding buildings to prevent the damage from spreading.
CAPTIONS:
Top and Front Page: The massive sinkhole at Samsen road and the police station that is being demolished. Photos – PPTVHD 36
Insert: Bangkok Governor Chadchart Sittipunt. Photo – Thai Rath
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