Woman killed in hotel building collapse on Koh Chang

Yesterday, a two-floor building in the Siam Beach Hotel in Kaibae village on the resort island in Trat province crumbled after heavy rain in the early morning. One Thai woman died at the scene, while six other Thai tourists were trapped in the rubble.

Koh Chang district chief Kamthon Wehon later revealed that all tourists who were trapped had been rescued just before noon and transferred to Koh Chang Hospital on the island, where their injuries were being treated.

Kamthon said most had wounds from the collapsed building, but none of them was serious. Three had been sent to the larger Trat Hospital on the mainland. He said all of them were Thais from Bangkok.

“There were eight tourists staying at the building, but at the time of incident, two Chinese tourists were in the building. We still don’t know the cause of the collapse yet, but I have ordered the Provincial Department of Public Works and the police to investigate,” he said.

The district chief said that officials suspected the building collapsed because the heavy rain caused the land it was on to slide and stressed the building structure. But they also suspected the building may have been badly built.

He said the authorities and the hotel would compensate all the victims, but the amount had yet to be considered. They may also take legal action against the hotel, if the authorities find that the collapse was caused by negligence of the owner.