260-year-old building collapses in Bangkok's Chinese community
A centuries-old Chinese-style building in Bangkok collapsed in the early hours of Thursday, but there were no reports of human casualties.
The two-storey wood-and-concrete building is located in the Talat Noi community of the city’s Samphanthawong district, where many of its residents are Chinese descendants.
A building section of the rented house used as kitchen and bathroom caved in at about 2am, according to tenant Kiatchai Sahin. He said a loud noise of the collapse woke him up, but he later felt relieved after learning that everyone in the house was safe.
“The kitchen and bathroom were destroyed and some belongings were damaged. Luckily, all of us in the house are fine,” he said.
Local authorities, including police and district officials, inspected the site on Thursday and cordoned off the affected area.
The house owner, Duangduan Saetang, said the building was built about 260 years ago and that it was the first Chinese-style building to be built in Bangkok.
Its old age could have caused subsidence and the eventual collapse, the 78-year-old woman said, adding that the building was built with no supporting beams, unlike later ones.
