Bangkok residents awoke on September 24, 2025, to a scene straight out of a disaster movie: a gaping sinkhole, nearly 50 meters (160 feet) wide and 20 meters (65 feet) deep, had opened up on Samsen Road in the city’s Dusit district. The dramatic collapse, which struck around 7 a.m. in front of Vajira Hospital and just outside a local police station, disrupted the morning rush, forced evacuations, and left a trail of damaged infrastructure and nerves.
According to AFP and The Economic Times, the sinkhole swallowed vehicles, utility poles, and exposed a burst water pipe that sent muddy water gushing into the void. Eyewitnesses captured the chaos on video as the road surface slowly subsided, pulling down electricity poles and rupturing water pipes. Cars frantically reversed in a bid to escape, but at least three vehicles—including a tow truck and a white pickup that teetered perilously on the edge—were damaged or fell in. Emergency workers, using a crane and a harness, managed to rescue the pickup, but not all vehicles were so lucky.
Miraculously, there were no fatalities. Bangkok Governor Chadchart Sittipunt confirmed that, while three vehicles were damaged, the human toll was limited to several minor injuries suffered during the frantic evacuations. “The soil was pulled into the tunnel, causing the subsidence,” Chadchart explained to AFP, attributing the disaster to ongoing construction of an underground subway station—specifically, the Purple Line extension—beneath the road. Heavy monsoon rains and a leaky pipe are believed to have eroded the soil supporting the road, leading to the sudden collapse.
Suriyachai Rawiwan, director of Bangkok’s disaster prevention department, echoed these findings, telling AFP, “The water that eroded brought some soil that dropped down to an under-construction subway station, causing the collapse.” The site, as local media reported, lay directly above the junction of the dual-track rail line and a planned MRT station, making it especially vulnerable to the combination of heavy rainfall and construction activity.
As the hole widened, authorities sprang into action. Vajira Hospital, a key teaching institution serving thousands, suspended outpatient services for two days starting September 24, though surgery and emergency care continued. Hospital staff and patients were evacuated as a precaution, and city officials confirmed that the building’s structure was not compromised. The nearby police station was also evacuated, with officers setting up a temporary base 2.4 kilometers away. In addition, electricity and water were cut off in the affected area to prevent further hazards, and a 100-meter radius around the site was cordoned off as the ground continued to slide well into the afternoon.
Bangkok’s Prime Minister, Anutin Charnvirakul, visited the scene, expressing his concern and ordering the evacuation of anyone at risk. He told reporters that repairs to the collapsed subway tunnel could take about a year—a sobering prospect for residents and commuters already dealing with snarled traffic and detours. “The location is at a station, and the soil was sucked into the site... it collapsed,” Governor Chadchart Sittipunt said, emphasizing the risks that come with ambitious underground projects in a city built on soft, waterlogged ground.
The disruption was immediate and widespread. Traffic snarled across central Bangkok, with detours amplifying the city’s already notorious gridlock. Repair crews from the Metropolitan Electricity Authority and water board worked feverishly to pump out water and stabilize the edges of the crater. The sinkhole’s proximity to Vajira Hospital and the police station amplified public anxiety, as did the memory of past sinkhole incidents in the Thai capital—such as the 2018 collapse near a major mall.
For local residents, the experience was harrowing. Noppadech Pitpeng, a 27-year-old hospital staffer, described being jolted awake by a rumbling sound. “The sound was like an electricity pole collapsing and my whole flat shook,” he recounted while carrying clothes out of his building, as reported by AFP. A receptionist at nearby Suan Dusit University said staff had been allowed to work from home, and students shifted to online classes out of caution. “I felt a bit scared,” she admitted, summing up the mood of the neighborhood.
Videos posted to social media and verified by news outlets showed the moment the street gave way, with people fleeing as the asphalt cracked and collapsed, revealing a water-filled abyss below. The edge of the sinkhole stopped just short of the police station, exposing its underground foundations and highlighting the precariousness of the city’s infrastructure.
City officials and engineers now face a daunting challenge. With Bangkok still in the throes of monsoon season, fears of further erosion and collapse remain acute. Experts have warned that the combination of heavy rainfall, soft soil, and ongoing construction could lead to additional instability if not addressed swiftly. Round-the-clock monitoring has been instituted, and authorities are racing to shore up the site before the next downpour.
This incident has reignited debate about Bangkok’s rapid urbanization and the balancing act between modernization and geological reality. The city, home to more than 10 million people, is pushing ahead with ambitious infrastructure projects like new subway lines to ease congestion and foster economic growth. But as the September 24 collapse starkly demonstrated, such progress comes with risks—especially in a metropolis built atop a swampy delta, where even small errors in construction or maintenance can have outsized consequences.
The Mass Rapid Transit Authority, which oversees the subway project, announced it would launch a full investigation into the cause of the cave-in. Meanwhile, the city’s disaster prevention department and municipal authorities are reviewing safety protocols for all ongoing underground works, hoping to prevent a repeat of Wednesday’s chaos.
For now, the massive crater on Samsen Road stands as a vivid reminder of the city’s vulnerabilities. As repair crews labor to fill the hole and restore normalcy, Bangkok’s residents are left to ponder the lessons of a morning when, quite literally, the ground gave way beneath their feet.