Residents of a three-storey shophouse row in Nonthaburi were evacuated yesterday, October 2, after pillars and walls cracked and chunks of concrete fell from the building, raising fears of a collapse.
Mueang Nonthaburi Police Station was notified at 6.30pm about the five-unit building at the entrance to Soi Rewadee 19 in Talat Khwan subdistrict, Mueang district. It houses a security company and homes.
Police and rescue workers set up a police line, moved everyone out and used a Scope Eye inspection device to assess the structural damage.
57 year old Areewan, the owner and a resident, said she was working inside when she heard concrete flaking off, then a loud bang, before the cracks widened and large chunks fell.
Each of the five units is home to about three to four people. They cannot return until the inspection is done, and Areewan said they plan to rent rooms nearby.
A 60 year old businessman named Pong, who witnessed the incident, said he heard people shouting that a pillar had exploded and found a structural pillar visibly burst apart. He called local health volunteers, who alerted the municipality, and officers arrived straight away.
Pong fears the building could come down because many steel bars are sticking out of the pillar. He said that if one load-bearing pillar fell, it could pull down the neighbouring three-storey shophouses, and he urged road users to avoid Soi Rewadee 19 for now.
Police and other agencies have cordoned off the scene and are arranging for engineers to inspect the building. No cause has been confirmed.
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The story Three-storey Nonthaburi building evacuated over collapse fears as seen on Thaiger News.
