A series of very serious accidents have occurred at construction sites in Bangkok, causing great public concern.
First incident (occurred on Thursday, January 15, 2026): A huge crane working on the construction of a highway above the busy Rama 2 highway collapsed. Parts of the crane fell directly onto the roadway, killing several workers and damaging passing vehicles. This road is otherwise known as the “eternal construction site” and has had similar incidents before.
Second incident (on Friday, January 16, 2026): Just a day after the first, a similar tragedy occurred at another construction site in the city. Again, the steel cables broke or the crane’s balance went wrong, causing the heavy structure to fall and causing additional casualties.
This repeated incident was actually the ,,trigger” for the government to order a complete halt to all major infrastructure work in the capital over the past weekend.
The death toll was high: 30 people were killed and 69 injured, of whom 7 were in critical condition, in the first accident, and 2 people were killed and 2 injured in the second. A total of 31 dead and 71 injured.
On January 16, 2026, the government officially initiates the procedure for terminating the contract with the Italian-Thai Development company and introduces a certain pause on all their projects for inspection. Possible main causes and consequences:
Negligence and safety: Authorities have launched an urgent investigation because it is unacceptable that such incidents should occur in such a short space of time. Poor maintenance of equipment and pressure to complete the work as soon as possible are suspected.
Temporary suspension of work: Following these accidents, the Thai Ministry of Transport ordered a temporary suspension of all work on key sections until a thorough inspection of all cranes and safety protocols is carried out.
Fear among citizens: Since the accidents occur above busy roads, people in Bangkok are very anxious because they are literally afraid to drive under the construction site.
Here are some links of articles that covered this, and youtube video
BBC News https://www.bbc.com/news/live/c9qeq08g70yt
The Nation Thailand https://www.nationthailand.com/news/general/40061330
N1 Serbia https://n1info.rs/svet/video-kran-pao-na-putnicki-voz-na-tajlandu-najmanje-22-poginulih/
