February 25, 2014
BANGKOK (AFP) - At least 10 workers died and 17 others were injured when a large concrete beam collapsed Tuesday at a construction site just outside Bangkok, police said.
Television footage showed rescue workers using sniffer dogs and a digger to reach bodies stuck beneath large chunks of broken concrete and twisted metal at the sprawling site in Samut Prakan province, which borders Bangkok.
Two of the injured were in a critical condition in hospital, according to provincial police.
"There are 10 dead and 17 injured who are in hospital," police commander Thatchai Hongthong told AFP, revising down an earlier toll of 11 dead.
Volunteer rescue teams scoured the building site for bodies but by Tuesday afternoon had stopped their search.
"There were 40 workers on site at the time of the collapse, now we have stopped searching as I'm confident we have retrieved all of the bodies," said rescue worker Anyawut Pho-ampai.
Labour groups have warned about lax safety standards and low wages at Thai construction sites, especially for migrant workers from Myanmar, Cambodia and Laos, who are often paid below the country's minimum daily wage of $9.2.
The nation has seen a building boom over recent years as the property market has soared.
