Massive sinkhole splits open Bangkok street (VIDEO)

A roadway collapsed close to a hospital and police station in Thailand’s capital city

Officials in Thailand reported that a segment of a road in Bangkok, the nation’s capital, gave way on Wednesday, forming an enormous sinkhole that led to utility disruptions and mandatory evacuations.

Measuring 50 meters in depth and extending approximately 900 square meters, the massive void appeared directly in front of Vajira Hospital and adjacent to a police station, causing traffic cessation throughout the vicinity.

Social media footage depicted the street progressively giving way, pulling down electrical poles while water erupted from a drainage conduit.

While the hospital structure itself remained undamaged, officials confirmed that outpatient services would be suspended for two days. As a precautionary measure, the adjacent police station and several other structures were cleared.

Authorities believe the subsidence was initiated by active construction for an underground railway line.

“Soil from an underground train project was shifting,” Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul informed Reuters, further stating that there were no fatalities or injuries. However, three vehicles sustained damage.

This event marks another in a series of infrastructural breakdowns across Thailand. Previously, in March, a concrete support beam from an elevated expressway construction fell onto a road, resulting in at least five deaths.

This occurrence adds to the recent succession of infrastructure malfunctions in Thailand. Back in March, a concrete girder from an elevated highway construction project fell onto a street, claiming the lives of at least five individuals.

Previous incidents include a three-meter-deep hole that emerged at a bustling Bangkok crossroads in October 2024, probably due to a fractured water pipe. Earlier in the same year, a motorcyclist and a child fell into a sinkhole in Nonthaburi. Furthermore, in November 2023, a Bangkok road gave way beneath a heavy truck, causing injuries to two motorcyclists.

Numerous minor collapses over the past few years have also been attributed to issues with drainage systems and breakdowns in subterranean utilities.