Bangkok evacuates residents, closes road after Purple Line tunnel leak

BMA and MRTA monitoring tunnel leak and building conditions, says Chadchart

Bangkok authorities have evacuated people from nearby buildings and closed a road near the site of a Purple Line tunnel leak in Klong San district.

Klong San district chief Sorasit Lueangroongkiat on Thursday night ordered suspension of use of buildings near the Wong Wian Yai intersection above the leakage, which occurred 30 metres below ground.

He said water leaking into the subway tunnel under Wong Wian Yai roundabout and adjacent Prachathipok Road caused damage to the tunnel structure and nearby buildings, and the closures were aimed at public safety. He asked the Mass Rapid Transit Authority (MRTA), which owns the Purple Line, to arrange shelters for affected residents.

Bangkok governor Chadchart Sittipunt said on Thursday the leakage occurred in the same Purple Line tunnel involved in last year’s large sinkhole on Sam Sen Road in Dusit district. In the latest incident, water leaked into the lowest section of the tunnel, causing soil subsidence and impacts on nearby buildings, he said.

According to Mr Chadchart, the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) and the MRTA are closely monitoring water leakage, soil levels and building conditions within a 30-metre radius of the site, and residents of several nearby buildings were evacuated.

Prachathipok Road is also closed to traffic from Wong Wian Yai to Ban Khaek intersection to reduce vibration.

The Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation sent emergency messages informing people in affected districts of the closure, saying it would facilitate repair of the Purple Line tunnel. It recommended Isaraparp and Lat Ya roads as detours and the BTS elevated railway as an alternative.

The Bangkok Mass Transit Authority (BMTA) adjusted five bus routes affected by the road closure.

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A video from the MRTA showed a Purple Line tunnel partly flooded, with neck-deep water levels in some sections.