Fatal Sukhumvit 71 landslide buries Myanmar worker Nian Chan, 49, three metres underground as his colleague escapes. Rescuers battle to reach him but recover his body. Police now investigate waterlogged soil and the construction site.
A Myanmar worker was buried alive three metres underground when a Bangkok construction site suddenly collapsed on Thursday evening. Nian Chan, 49, was levelling soil when tonnes of earth came crashing down, while a second worker escaped. Desperate attempts to dig him out failed before rescuers recovered his body. The disaster struck a drainage-pipe project off Sukhumvit 71 after days of rain left the ground waterlogged. Now work is suspended, part of the soi is closed and police and engineers are investigating the collapse. At this time, the contractor behind the project remains unidentified.
A 49-year-old Myanmar worker died after a landslide buried him three metres underground at a Bangkok construction site on Thursday evening. The collapse triggered a major rescue operation shortly before 7 pm. However, emergency crews later recovered the man, dead, from beneath the soil and debris.
The incident occurred inside Soi Pridi Banomyong 14, off Sukhumvit 71 Road, in Bangkok’s Watthana district. Rama 199 received the emergency call through the 199 hotline at 6.47 pm on October 1. In response, Phra Khanong Fire and Rescue Station immediately dispatched crews to the site.
Firefighters and rescue workers arrived at about 7.02 pm, only 15 minutes after the first call. They found one man trapped approximately three metres below ground. Initial reports described soil collapsing around an excavation at the construction site. Notably, later information revealed two workers had been inside the excavation when the soil gave way.
Rescue operation turns fatal as crews recover Myanmar worker buried three metres beneath Bangkok soil
The dead worker was identified as Nian Chan, 49, a Myanmar national. Police said two workers were levelling soil inside the excavation before the collapse. One managed to escape. However, Nian Chan was buried beneath soil and part of the road structure.
Rescue teams immediately began trying to reach the trapped man. Co-workers had already attempted to dig him out but could not reach him. The operation continued as emergency crews worked around the collapsed earth. Shortly before 8 pm, though, the rescue operation took a fatal turn.
At about 7.50 pm, Rama 199 confirmed that the trapped worker had died. Rescue personnel subsequently recovered his body from the excavation. Police then took responsibility for the body and began investigating the circumstances surrounding the collapse.
Separately, police at Khlong Tan station were notified of the incident at about 7 pm. Metropolitan Police Division 5 commander Pol Maj Gen Nitiwat Saensing also attended the scene. Police later reported that Nian Chan had died from asphyxiation after being buried.
Attention also turned to construction work underway before the ground gave way. The site forms part of a drainage-pipe construction project along Sukhumvit Road. The project runs from Soi Pridi Banomyong 14 to Khlong Sala Loi.
Drainage project had operated for three months before worker was buried as the soil suddenly gave way
Earlier reports said Metropolitan Waterworks Authority work had continued at the location for approximately one month. However, updated information indicated construction had been underway for about three months. The precise contractual arrangements remained unclear late Thursday.
In parallel, the contractor carrying out the work had not been publicly identified. Police established that two workers were levelling soil inside the excavation before the collapse. Investigators were therefore examining the construction site and circumstances immediately preceding the fatal incident.
A co-worker, Prachya Phromduang, 37, provided further details about the final moments before the collapse. He said the men were approaching the end of their working day. They had almost completed levelling the soil and were preparing to leave.
Then, a large volume of earth suddenly collapsed onto Nian Chan. His colleague escaped, but Nian Chan was completely buried. Co-workers immediately tried to dig him free. Nevertheless, the volume and condition of the collapsed soil prevented them from reaching him.
The landslide followed heavy rainfall across Bangkok earlier Thursday afternoon. In addition, reports said the construction area had experienced repeated flooding and drainage issues. Updated reports described the soil as dense and waterlogged following several days of rain.
Still, investigators had not established the final cause by Thursday night. There was no confirmed engineering finding that heavy rain directly caused the soil to give way. Likewise, officials had not established a direct causal connection between flooding, drainage and the worker’s death.
Waterlogged soil and recent rain examined as police and engineers investigate fatal ground collapse
The condition of the excavation also remained under examination. Reports described the work area as approximately three metres deep and about 10 metres across. Available information contained no final engineering finding concerning support around the excavation.
As a result, the precise mechanism behind the ground failure remained subject to investigation. Officials were examining the excavation before deciding when construction could safely resume. Meanwhile, work at the site was suspended following the fatality.
The timeline shows how rapidly the emergency developed. At 6.47 pm, Rama 199 received the initial report of a landslide and a trapped man. By 7.02 pm, Phra Khanong emergency crews had reached the construction site.
There, they found Nian Chan buried around three metres underground. Early information indicated that soil had collapsed into or around the excavation. Rescue teams then launched an operation to reach him beneath the debris.
For almost an hour, emergency crews worked at the scene while the worker remained trapped. Then, at approximately 7.50 pm, Rama 199 reported that he had died. Rescue workers eventually brought his body back to the surface.
Afterwards, police assumed responsibility for the case. Officials also began examining conditions around the construction area. As part of this, investigators were establishing exactly how the soil collapsed while the two men worked below ground.
Soi temporarily closed as officials inspect fatal excavation before suspended construction can resume
The site is in Phra Khanong Nuea subdistrict of Bangkok’s Watthana district. Crucially, the incident did not involve the main Sukhumvit Road carriageway. Instead, the ground gave way inside a construction site within Soi Pridi Banomyong 14.
The soi runs from the Sukhumvit 71 and Pridi Banomyong Road area. Consequently, descriptions of a “Sukhumvit landslide” require a clear distinction. There was no report that the main Sukhumvit Road surface itself collapsed.
Rather, the fatal incident occurred within an active construction area off Sukhumvit 71. Emergency activity was concentrated around the excavation where Nian Chan became trapped. Subsequently, the affected section of Soi Pridi Banomyong 14 was temporarily closed to traffic.
Work at the construction site was also suspended for safety reasons. Meanwhile, police began coordinating with Bangkok officials, district engineers and waterworks officials. They were expected to inspect the excavation before construction was allowed to resume.
On another front, investigators faced questions about water conditions around the site. Bangkok had experienced heavy rain earlier that afternoon. Reports also referred to repeated flooding followed by drainage around the construction works.
Those circumstances were being examined after the collapse. Nevertheless, officials had announced no final causal finding by late Thursday. Heavy rainfall remained part of the factual background rather than an established cause.
Similarly, repeated flooding and drainage had not been officially identified as the cause. No final engineering assessment had established why the ground failed. Officials were therefore continuing to examine conditions surrounding the excavation.
Police probe worker’s death as contractor remains unidentified and engineering findings are awaited
Meanwhile, the waterworks connection added another element to the investigation. Reports linked the site to drainage-pipe construction extending towards Khlong Sala Loi. Updated information said work had been underway for approximately three months.
The available information still left the contractor unidentified. Furthermore, reports had not clarified Nian Chan’s employment arrangements. However, police established that he was working inside the excavation when the ground collapsed.
His precise task was also clarified. Nian Chan and another worker had been levelling soil near the end of their shift. According to Prachya Phromduang, they had almost finished and were preparing to leave.
Moments later, the soil gave way. The second worker escaped, while Nian Chan was buried completely. Police reported that he died from asphyxiation after being trapped beneath the collapsed material.
By late Thursday, several central facts were therefore established. A construction-site landslide occurred shortly before 7 pm inside Soi Pridi Banomyong 14. Nian Chan, 49, became trapped about three metres underground.
Within 15 minutes of the emergency call, Phra Khanong firefighters and rescuers were at the scene. Crews immediately began trying to reach the worker. Less than an hour later, however, Rama 199 confirmed his death.
Rescuers then recovered his body from beneath the collapsed soil. Police subsequently took over the case while officials examined the construction site. Construction was suspended, while part of the soi was temporarily closed.
Contractor and final cause remain unknown as officials inspect waterlogged excavation after fatal collapse
At the same time, several significant details remained outstanding. The contractor had not been publicly named. A final engineering explanation for the ground collapse was also unavailable.
However, investigators now had considerably more information about conditions immediately before the accident. Two workers were inside the excavation levelling soil. They were nearing the end of their shift when the earth suddenly gave way.
Moreover, the excavation was approximately three metres deep and around 10 metres across. Reports described the soil as dense and waterlogged following several days of rain. Co-workers initially attempted to reach Nian Chan but were unable to free him.
The afternoon rain and reported flooding provided further background to the investigation. Even so, neither had been established as the cause. Officials were still examining the excavation and events preceding the sudden ground failure.
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The confirmed sequence remained stark by Thursday night. The emergency call came at 6.47 pm, with rescue crews arriving at 7.02 pm. Nian Chan was trapped three metres underground as firefighters and rescue workers fought to reach him.
Then, at about 7.50 pm, the rescue became a recovery operation. Rama 199 confirmed the 49-year-old Myanmar worker had died beneath the collapsed earth. His body was recovered as police and engineers began investigating the fatal Sukhumvit 71 construction-site landslide.
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