Thailand says collapsed Bangkok tower used sub-standard steel

The contractors of an under-construction tower that crashed in Bangkok during last week’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 crash site 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 the same company, whose factory was shut since December, Thitipas Choddaechachainun, 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 Thailand’s Rayong province. Thai authorities closed the factory on safety grounds in December due to an accident involving gas tank leakage and seized more than 2,400 tons of steel.

The 30-story building was set to house Thailand’s State Audit Office, and 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 nearly 80 people.

The discovery of the substandard steel comes amid a separate probe 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 Italian-Thai Development Pcl 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. Meanwhile, China Railway Number 10, which couldn’t be reached for comment, is also set to be probed by the Department of Special Investigation to see if they used Thai nominees as proxy shareholders, Justice Minister Tawee Sodsong said.

At a cabinet meeting Tuesday, Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra also ordered authorities to scrutinize every project involving China Railway Number 10. The Chinese construction firm was found to have won 11 government contracts, including a school building already completed, according to the Ministry of Commerce.

“We really need to find an answer” to what caused the crash, Paetongtarn told reporters. “We need to tell the people and the world what happened in Thailand.”

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 Thailand’s Ministry of Commerce database. A representative for Italian-Thai couldn’t 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. The crash stood out in the city that withstood much of the impact of the temblor in contrast to widespread devastation close to the epicenter in Myanmar where more than 2,000 people were killed.

The government will take action against the steel factory under Thailand’s Industrial Products Standards Act, 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,” said Thitipas. “We’ll also inspect the factory in the meantime to see if it had violated the shutdown order and check the inventory that we’ve seized.”