Pat Stevens/
A massive sinkhole tore open Wednesday morning on Samsen Road in central Bangkok, ripping through pavement, swallowing vehicles and knocking down utility poles, but miraculously leaving no reported deaths or injuries.
Emergency crews and city officials evacuated nearby buildings, including part of Vajira Hospital, as engineers worked to stabilise the scene.
Video circulating on social media captured the terrifying moment the road collapsed.
Authorities said the crater measures tens of metres across and deep, with several outlets reporting dimensions in the range of about 30 metres wide and up to 50 metres deep (roughly 100–160 feet), and that the collapse exposed water and power infrastructure.
Three vehicles were damaged or pulled into the void, and electric poles and water pipes were among the utilities knocked out.
Both Bangkok Governor, Chadchart Sittipunt and Prime Minister, Anutin Charnvirakul, said early investigations point to nearby underground rail construction as a likely cause.
Officials described soil and broken water pipes flowing into underground workspaces, which then undermined the road above, a sequence that officials fear could be worsened by ongoing monsoon rains.
Authorities have halted work at the nearby station while teams assess the site.
The Bangkok Metropolitan Administration and the Royal Thai Police cordoned off the area, shut power and water to portions of the neighbourhood and ordered evacuations of nearby flats and some hospital services as a precaution.
Teams from the metropolitan administration, utility companies and disaster-response units were on site using cranes and pumps to recover vehicles and to plug ruptured pipes while geotechnical experts monitor for further ground movement.
Investigators have promised a full review and independent probe into why the ground gave way so suddenly and whether construction practices or old buried infrastructure played a role.
For now, residents and commuters face major traffic reroutes and uncertainty as crews work to make the area safe.
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[SRC] https://newsmakerslive.org/miraculous-no-casualty-after-massive-sinkhole-opens-on-busy-bangkok-road/
