Rescue workers are hoisted into place to search for missing workers at the site of the collapsed State Audit Office tower in Chatuchak district of Bangkok on Monday. (Photo: Pattarapong Chatpattarasill)The contractors of the under-construction office tower that collapsed in Bangkok during last Friday’s earthquake apparently used substandard steel bars made by a factory that had been shuttered by authorities.
Samples of two different sizes of steel bars collected from the site of the State Audit Office building failed tests by the Iron and Steel Institute of Thailand for their mass, chemical composition and ability to withstand stress before breaking.
The metal was made by a company whose factory had been shut for other violations since December, Thitipas Choddaechachainun, the head of a working group at the Ministry of Industry, said without identifying the business.
Images of the steel bars shared by the ministry and local media displayed the brand “Sky”, made by Xin Ke Yuan Steel Co, which had a factory in Rayong province. Authorities closed the factory on safety grounds in December due to an accident involving a gas tank leak and seized more than 2,400 tonnes of steel.
The 30-storey building was the only building to crumble in the Thai capital in the wake of the 7.7-magnitude earthquake that hit Myanmar on Friday. The crash killed at least a dozen workers and trapped dozens more.
The discovery of the substandard steel comes amid a separate investigation ordered by the government to uncover the reasons for the building collapse.
Xin Ke Yuan Steel is the second Chinese company to draw Thai scrutiny. The skyscraper was being constructed by ITD-CREC, a joint venture between SET-listed Italian-Thai Development Plc and China Railway Number 10 Thailand Co.
Authorities will collect more steel samples and collaborate with the probe panel, Industry Minister Akanat Promphan said on Tuesday.
China Railway Number 10, which could not be reached for comment, is also set to be investigated by the Department of Special Investigation to see if it used Thai nominees as proxy shareholders, Justice Minister Tawee Sodsong said.
A phone operator at the Xin Ke Yuan Steel plant said the factory operations remained suspended. Executives at the firm couldn’t be reached. The company was registered in 2011 with nine Chinese nationals holding an 80% stake, according to the Department of Business Development database. A representative for Italian-Thai could not immediately be reached for comment.
The viral images of the dramatic collapse of the building, which was about 45% complete, have raised questions about the design, construction and quality of materials used. An anti-corruption watchdog said on Monday that it had raised a number of concerns about the project.
The crash stood out in the city that withstood much of the impact of the temblor, in contrast to widespread devastation close to the epicentre in Myanmar where more than 2,700 people have been confirmed to have died so far.
The government will take action against the steel factory under Thailand’s Industrial Products Standards Act, Ms Thitipas told reporters late on Monday, adding that the government has been cracking down on low-quality steel.
“We can prosecute any manufacturer and seller of substandard products,” she said. “We’ll also inspect the factory in the meantime to see if it had violated the shutdown order and check the inventory that we have seized.”