Audio By Carbonatix
A court in Thailand has issued 17 arrest warrants for people connected to the building of a skyscraper that collapsed during an earthquake in March.
The 30-storey tower, being built to house the State Audit Office, was felled when Bangkok felt tremors of a 7.7 magnitude earthquake that struck neighbouring Myanmar.
Authorities said they had recovered 89 bodies from the rubble of the tower, while seven remain unaccounted for.
Police investigating the cause of the collapse said the warrants were issued to people involved in the design, construction and building supervision of the tower, local media reported.
Police named only one of the individuals as businessman Premchai Karnasuta, a former president of Italian-Thai Development PLC., one of Thailand's largest construction firms.
Thai media reported on Thursday that investigators had found structural flaws in a lift shaft in the building. Thai authorities are yet to release their findings into the cause of the building's collapse.
Footage showed high-rise buildings in Bangkok swaying and water falling from rooftop pools onto the streets below resulting from the strong tremors.
Buildings in the Thai capital emerged from the quake largely unscathed except for the State Audit Office - a tower made of blue glass and steel that was situated opposite the Chatuchak market, a popular tourist attraction.
It had been under construction for three years at a cost of more than two billion Thai baht ($59m; £45m) before it was reduced to rubble.
More than 400 workers were at the site when it collapsed, and drones, sniffer dogs, cranes, and excavators were brought in to help with the rescue effort.
The earthquake that hit Myanmar on 28 March caused the deaths of more than 3,000 people and injured more than 4,500, with tremors felt elsewhere, including in Thailand and south-west China.
Latest Stories
-
Oil price at two-year high after Qatar warns all Gulf production could stop within days
16 minutes -
Ireland condemns missile attack that injured Ghanaian soldiers in Lebanon
18 minutes -
‘Massive’ numbers killed by gunmen in latest Nigeria attack, senator tells BBC
20 minutes -
Ghana@69 feels different: Jerseys, songs, and digital culture celebration takeover
34 minutes -
EX WO1 Josiah Stephenson Kingful aka Old Soldier
40 minutes -
State of the Nation at 69: The Ghana we have vs. The Ghana we want
47 minutes -
Ghana@69: Ghana’s High Commissioner to Canada urges Ghanaians in the diaspora to drive development
1 hour -
UNIFIL condemns air strikes that injured Ghanaian peacekeepers in Lebanon
2 hours -
Assembly member shot as armed robbery wave grips Agona East District
3 hours -
Armed robots take to the battlefield in Ukraine war
3 hours -
AI-generated Iran war videos surge as creators use new tech to cash in
3 hours -
Kufuor calls for intellectual revolution to fix Ghana’s structural cracks
5 hours -
This Saturday on Prime Insight: Experts to tackle Mahama’s land transit ban on rice and ORAL progress
6 hours -
‘Tragic event’: Israeli Ambassador reacts to missile attack on Ghanaian soldiers in Lebanon
6 hours -
Huge US bomber lands at UK air base
6 hours
