BMA orders inspection of manholes after man, 50, falls to his death
An underground power cable project on Bangkok’s Lat Phrao Road has been halted after a 50-year-old man fell to his death into a 15-metre-deep hole on Friday morning.
All the holes dug for the project will be covered in three days, a news source said on Friday.
The incident took place near the mouth of Lat Phrao Soi 49 in Bangkok’s Wang Thonglang district. The victim was seen crossing the road when he fell into the hole, which was covered only by an old wooden hatch.
The Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA)’s Public Works Department ordered the Metropolitan Electricity Authority (MEA), operator of the underground power cable project, to halt work immediately after the fatal accident.
The project involves laying underground power cables along the Yellow Line monorail route of the Lat Phrao - Samrong section. The BMA authority has ordered inspection of all manholes under the project to make sure that they are covered properly with suitable material according to safety standards within three days.
The BMA also told the MEA to contact the family of the victims and provide appropriate compensation.
The city warned that if the MEA fails to carry out the order it would suspend approval for the next construction projects of the MEA to be carried out in the Bangkok metropolitan area.
MEA deputy governor Thitiwut Ngernkhlai on Friday expressed his condolences to the family of the deceased, accepting that the accident was caused by negligence on the part of the agency.
He revealed that the manhole used to be covered by a metal lid, but it was recently stolen, prompting workers to put a wooden hatch on it as a temporary solution.
Thitiwut said the hole was now covered with concrete slaps, and that the MEA would pursue legal action against those who had stolen the manhole lid.
