BANGKOK, THAILAND – On 28 March 2025 a powerful earthquake shook the Thai capital and caused a catastrophic building collapse that claimed 93 lives, leaving lasting questions over responsibility and justice.
The day an ordinary afternoon turned into disaster
What began as a normal day in Bangkok turned into chaos when the ground started to shake at 1:20 p.m. The tremors, originating from the Sagaing fault in Myanmar, spread to the city and triggered panic among residents.
High-rise buildings swayed and many people were thrown out of elevators as the quake intensified. At a 33‑storey construction site on Kamphaeng Phet 2 Road, hundreds of workers were on duty when the ground beneath them started to move and the situation escalated rapidly.
Seconds of collapse captured in disbelief
On the construction site, workers gathered on the 29th floor, uncertain how to react as the shaking continued. The first chunks of concrete began to fall and the tower started to sway.
Bystanders recorded the scene as the structure gave way and the building disappeared within seconds in a cloud of dust. Many onlookers struggled to comprehend that such a collapse could happen in Bangkok.
Survivors recall a concrete nightmare
One survivor who had been on the 29th floor managed to free himself from the rubble and later described the eerie silence that followed the collapse.
“I saw only debris, debris everywhere,”
said the survivor, recalling the moments after he escaped.
He relied on his instinct to survive and pull himself out of danger. The memory of those who did not make it out, however, has remained with him and continues to weigh heavily on his mind.
A year on: Wounds that have not healed
The official toll recorded 93 dead, including many construction workers from Myanmar and Cambodia. The city was still marked by the physical and emotional scars of the tragedy one year later.
Authorities charged 23 suspects and promised compensation to those affected. Yet key questions over the causes of the collapse and the precise chain of responsibility remained unanswered.
The struggle for justice
For relatives of the victims, the past year was described as torment. Punch, whose parents died that day, continued to wait for clear answers and a sense of justice.
Families called for full disclosure about those responsible and the circumstances that led to the fatal failure of the building. A representative of the State Audit Office issued a public apology, but the gesture could not ease the profound grief of the families.