Demolition begins at Samsen police station after landslide worsens building subsidence
Demolition begins at Bangkok’s Samsen police station after heavy rain triggered landslides and further subsidence, raising concern over nearby MRT tunnel stability.
- Demolition of the Samsen police station began for safety reasons after a landslide caused worsening subsidence, fracturing key foundation pillars and compromising the building's structural integrity.
- Officials chose complete demolition because the building's interconnected framework made partial repairs impractical, and removing its weight is necessary to safely stabilize the ground.
- The demolition is being carried out using a remote-controlled robot starting from the top floor, a process expected to take several weeks with a priority on safety over speed.
- As a result of the demolition, the reopening of the adjacent Samsen Road will be delayed beyond its original October 9 schedule.
Bangkok Governor Chadchart Sittipunt and Mass Rapid Transit Authority of Thailand (MRTA) Deputy Governor Kittikorn Tanpao provided an update on Saturday (October 4) regarding the worsening subsidence along Samsen Road and structural damage at the Samsen Police Station.
Chadchart said that further ground movement had caused additional piling damage at the site, with one of the main foundation pillars—pillar number five—fracturing, and damage spreading to pillar number three, significantly reducing the structure’s ability to bear weight.
“Although the building has not yet collapsed, the situation continues to deteriorate. For safety reasons, demolition is necessary so that workers can operate without fear of further subsidence or collapse,” he said, noting that removing the structure’s weight would make ground stabilisation safer and more efficient.
He explained that the broken piles were caused by soil movement rather than the recent road restoration works. The building, a relatively new structure valued at around 40 million baht, has an interconnected framework, making complete demolition a more practical and cost-effective solution than attempting partial repairs.
Discussions are under way to determine who will bear the demolition costs, which are expected to fall to the MRTA’s contractor.
The operation began with the removal of all vehicles from the premises to minimise risk, followed by the dismantling of the rightmost section of the building—where the damage is most severe.
Additional safety measures include reinforcing the work zone, adding underground supports, and inspecting nearby police flats. The adjacent Vajira Hospital is being closely monitored but remains fully operational.
Chadchart said the demolition would take several weeks, as authorities were prioritising safety over speed. Once the building’s weight is sufficiently reduced, ground-filling work at the subsidence site can continue in parallel.
Around 2,000 cubic metres of soil have already been filled, with another 5,000 cubic metres remaining—expected to take about three more days once conditions stabilise.
He acknowledged that rainfall could delay progress by causing further soil erosion but assured that the MRTA and contractors were managing water levels and drainage to prevent complications.
Nearby residential buildings remain under close watch, and affected residents are being provided with temporary accommodation.
The demolition means the reopening of Samsen Road will likely be delayed beyond October 9, Chadchart said, though traffic congestion remains manageable as schools are on break.
Kittikorn said that an investigation committee has been established to determine the cause of the road subsidence. The panel is now in the process of gathering information and preparing its findings.
At this stage, the priority is to contain the damage and prevent it from spreading further, while working to restore the area for public use as quickly as possible.
He explained that because the affected area lies underground, the situation must first stabilise before any inspection or recovery work can proceed. Once teams can safely access the lower levels, they will be able to collect the necessary data to understand what exactly happened.
Chadchart added that it is too early to draw conclusions about the cause of the subsidence.
“We shouldn’t rush to finalise the findings, as once a conclusion is made, it’s difficult to revise,” he said. “It’s important to gather detailed and comprehensive information so the incident can serve as a valuable lesson for future prevention.”
Remote demolition robot begins tearing down Samsen police station
At around 8pm on October 4, demolition work was under way at the damaged Samsen Police Station. Earlier in the evening, workers had used chainsaws to cut through the broken foundation piles beneath the structure.
Later, a crane was deployed to lift a remote-controlled demolition robot — equipped with claw-like pincers and resembling a small backhoe — to dismantle the structure.
The demolition began from the fourth floor, proceeding down to the third, where crews removed the roof panels, glass walls, and concrete awnings along the front of the building facing Samsen Road.
By 8.30pm, the team paused the robot for maintenance before lifting it once more to continue dismantling the side section of the police station.
