Investigators turn focus on elevator shaft walls

The decision to reduce the thickness of the walls of the elevator shafts at the new State Audit Office (SAO) building contributed to the building's collapse, according to Justice Minister Tawee Sodsong.

- WASSAYOS NGAMKHAM LAMONPHET APISITNIRAN

Pol Col Tawee said investigators are particularly concerned about the elevator shafts’ walls, as they are significantly thinner than those built in other, comparable buildings.

Typically, he said, a shaft's walls should be about 60 centimetres thick, but the ones at the SAO building were about 25cm thick.

Pol Col Tawee said a team of engineers has been assembled to conduct a thorough investigation to determine if the reduced thickness of the walls played a role in the building's collapse.

The building's original blueprints will be examined as part of this process, he said.

As the contractor responsible for the project — China Railway No.10 (Thailand) — is a subsidiary of a state-owned company, Chinese authorities have been involved in the handling of the disaster.