Bangkok building collapses in strong earthquake, China Railway Tenth Bureau suspected of using substandard steel materials.

A strong earthquake of 7.7 magnitude struck Myanmar at 12:50 PM on March 28, with its tremors felt in China and Thailand. In Bangkok, the capital of Thailand, a national audit building being constructed by China’s “China Railway Tenth Bureau” collapsed, resulting in at least 12 deaths and 75 people missing. Thai officials suspect that the building might have used substandard steel materials.

According to Reuters, this unfinished 30-story building was intended to be the new office for Thailand’s Audit Office, and it is the only Thai building that completely collapsed during the earthquake in Myanmar. As of March 31, at least 12 people were confirmed dead, and Thai rescue teams are still searching for the 75 individuals who might be trapped under the rubble of the national audit building.

Construction of the building began in 2020 and was a joint project of the Italian-Thai Development PCL and China Railway Group’s subsidiary in Thailand, “China Railway Tenth Bureau,” responsible for the overall implementation.

On March 29, Thai Prime Minister Peetongtan Chinawat announced an investigation into the reasons for the collapse of the skyscraper.

Mana Nimitmongkol, the chairman of Thailand’s Anti-Corruption Organization, stated on March 30 that the organization had visited the construction site multiple times during the project and noticed delays in progress, insufficient workers, and suspected shortcuts being taken. “Sometimes, the number of on-site workers was far below the required standard, leading to project delays,” he added. “Substandard construction quality may have resulted from rushing to meet deadlines.”

The skyscraper was originally scheduled to be completed by 2026, but the project was behind schedule. Sutthipong Boonnithi, Thailand’s Deputy Chief Auditor, mentioned on March 29 that only about “30%” of the project had been completed before the building collapsed.

On March 30, Thailand’s Minister of Industry, Akanat Promphan, led a team to collect debris samples from the site and told Reuters that he was concerned about the possible use of inferior steel materials in the construction.

He pointed out that the Ministry of Industry had been cracking down on manufacturers producing substandard steel materials for the past six months, having closed down seven factories and seized assets worth approximately 360 million Thai baht (about 10 million USD). “Many of these factories had outdated production processes and equipment brought in from China,” he said, “resulting in substandard steel quality.”

The Thai Engineers Association is assisting the government in investigating whether buildings in the Bangkok area were damaged by the earthquake. Association experts believe that the collapse of the skyscraper may be related to unsafe construction materials or inadequate design and construction planning.