Bangkok sinkhole on Samsen Rd by Vajira Hospital forces evacuations

A vast sinkhole opened on Samsen Road in central Bangkok on Wednesday morning, collapsing a section of roadway in front of Vajira Hospital, disrupting traffic and prompting evacuations and utility shutdowns, officials said. The collapse occurred at about 7 a.m. local time in the Dusit district and forced the closure of roads around the hospital as emergency crews moved in to secure the area.

State media and city officials described the crater as roughly 30 by 30 metres and as deep as 50 metres, and said it continued to widen as workers assessed damage. Videos circulated online showed the road surface slowly subsiding, electricity poles toppling and water pipes rupturing, sending torrents of water into the void. Bangkok Governor Chadchart Sittipunt said no injuries had been reported and that three vehicles were damaged; other footage and eyewitnesses showed cars scrambling backward as the hole enlarged and, in some clips, vehicles and poles disappearing into the chasm.

Authorities evacuated patients and residents from nearby flats and ordered people out of a police station and several other buildings close to the site. Vajira Hospital suspended outpatient services for two days...