Resort's buildings to be dismantled for the safety reasons

Bunchuay Kulsriworathai made the decision after a two-floor building in the resort in Kaibae village on the popular Island crumbled after heavy rain in the early morning Sunday.

One Thai woman died at the scene, while six other Thai tourists were trapped in the rubble.

Six Thai tourists who were trapped in a collapsed resort building on Koh Chang have been rescued with no serious injuries, while a two-year-old child was also safe.

Pol Col Avat Pibulsawat, superintendent of Koh Chang police station said the police were awaiting more inspection results before deciding as to whether to press charges against the resort’s owner and others concerned over the collapse of the building. 

“If the inspection results found that there was violation of Building Act, we have to take legal action,’’ he said.

Assoc Prof Siriwat Chaichana who led the inspection of the resort said concerned officials checked all the buildings in the resort and found that the building and pillars cracked and the hotel owner fixed the cracks by supporting the buildings with more beams and pillars. He suspected that the building had been rickety for sometime.

He said the buildings were located on soft soil, due to run-offs flowing from the back of the mountain behind the buildings and ran under the buildings. “The soil became too soft and could not withstand the pressure of the building weight, resulting in the collapse of the building,’’ he said.

He would announce the results of the building check today.