Authorities in Thailand are investigating the construction of a Bangkok skyscraper that collapsed during last week’s earthquake, killing at least 13 people.

The 30-floor structure in Chatuchak district, which was being built for Thailand’s State Audit Office by a Chinese company and a Thai construction firm, collapsed into a heap of concrete when the 7.7 magnitude earthquake hit on Friday, trapping – and possibly entombing – around 90 construction workers.

Efforts to locate the around 75 people feared still trapped under the rubble of the unfinished tower continue, despite the expiry of the 72-hour period that is viewed as critical for survival. Many of the workers are reportedly migrant workers from Myanmar, where the earthquake has caused widespread devastation, and where the death toll has now topped 2,000. At least one of the workers who died was from Cambodia.

The State Audit Office building was a joint venture between Italian-Thai Development Plc and a subsidiary of China Railway No.10 Engineering Group, which operates under the state-owned China Railway........

© The Diplomat