SHOCKING footage reveals a massive sinkhole in central Bangkok, threatening to swallow nearby hospital.
A nearly 50 metre-deep sinkhole opened in Bangkok, swallowing parts of a busy street and leading to local evacuations.
A nearly 50 metre-deep sinkhole opened in Bangkok on Wednesday[/caption]
Footage shows the road slowly sinking as water pours out from a drainage pipe[/caption]
Local police services and city officials quickly cordoned off the site.[/caption]
A video of the gaping hole shows the road slowly sinking as water pours out from a drainage pipe.
As the rupture appears, pedestrians and road users can be seen frantically backing away.
The hole, covering a busy four-lane road, engulfs electricity wires and damages three vehicles.
In the aftermath of the incident, hundreds of images were quick to circulate on social media.
One image shows one lucky driver’s vehicle teetering on edge on the crater.
It even threatened to damage the Vajira Hospital which serves as a teaching facility for one of Thailand’s top medical universities.
In a Facebook post about the incident, the hospital said that it was suspending outpatient services.
It added that services would “resume as soon as possible”.
Responding to the incident, local police services and city officials quickly cordoned off the site.
In a statement to the press, Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul confirmed that “there are no deaths or injuries”.
Bangkok Governor, Chadchart Sittipunt added: “The hospital has no problems, but we are worried about the police station: that’s still dangerous and the public has been evacuated.”
It remains unclear what caused the incident but Suriyachai Rawiwan, director of Bangkok’s disaster prevention unit, linked the collapse with the leaky pipe and recent heavy rainfall.
However, Sittipunt attributed the collapse to ongoing construction at a nearby underground station.
Hospital worker, Noppadech Pitpeng, spoke of hearing a rumbling sound that woke him up Wednesday morning.
“The sound was like an electricity pole collapsing and my whole flat shook.”
A sinkhole refers to a depression in the ground caused by the collapse of underlying rock, often triggered by natural causes.
However, they can also be triggered by the collapse of man-made underground structures.
It is likely that a combination of more frequent rainfall, as well as increasing level of urbanisation, are to blame for the ordeal.
To make matters worse, this isn’t the first time something like this has happened.
Several months ago, a South Korean motorcyclist plunged to his death after a sinkhole appeared in the South Korean capital, Seoul.
One vehicle teeters on edge on the chasm[/caption]
