Thai court issues 17 arrest warrants over Bangkok skyscraper collapse

A court in Thailand has issued 17 arrest warrants for people connected to the building of a skyscraper that collapsed during an earthquake in March.

The 30-storey tower, being built to house the State Audit Office, was felled when Bangkok was hit by tremors of a 7.7 magnitude earthquake that struck neighbouring Myanmar.

Authorities said they had recovered 89 bodies from the rubble of the tower, while seven remain unaccounted for.

Police investigating the cause of the collapse said the warrants were issued to people involved in the design, construction and building supervision of the tower, local media reported.

Police named only one of the individuals as businessman Premchai Karnasuta, a former president of Italian-Thai Development PLC., one of Thailand’s largest construction firms.

Thai media reported on Thursday that investigators had found structural flaws in a lift shaft in the building. Thai authorities are yet to release their findings into the cause of the building’s collapse.

Footage showed high-rise buildings in Bangkok swaying and water falling from rooftop pools onto the streets below resulting from the strong tremors.

Buildings in the Thai capital emerged from the quake largely unscathed except for the State Audit Office – a tower made of blue glass and steel that was situated opposite the Chatuchak market, a popular tourist attraction.

It had been under construction for three years at a cost of more than two billion Thai baht ($59m; £45m) before it was reduced to rubble.

More than 400 workers were at the site when it collapsed and drones, sniffer dogs, cranes, and excavators were brought in to help with the rescue effort.