Bangkok's giant 160-foot sinkhole swallows cars, cuts power, and forces evacuations. Watch viral video

Chaos erupted in Thailand’s capital on Wednesday when a busy four-lane road suddenly caved in, creating a monstrous 50-meter-wide (160-foot) sinkhole that swallowed vehicles, snapped power lines, and left an entire neighborhood in panic.

Shocking videos of the collapse show the road slowly sinking before giving way completely, dragging down electricity poles and bursting water pipes that gushed uncontrollably. One edge of the crater stopped just short of a police station, exposing its underground foundations. A pickup truck dangled dangerously over the edge before emergency crews hoisted it out with a crane — but at least one truck wasn’t so lucky and plunged into the abyss.

City governor Chadchart Sittipunt blamed the disaster on ongoing underground construction for a new subway station. “Soil above began flowing into the tunnel… this caused the road surface to collapse, dragging down electrical poles and rupturing water pipes. The broken pipes then washed even more soil into the tunnel, making the situation worse,” he said.



Officials confirmed there were no casualties, but three vehicles were damaged and multiple buildings — including a police station and Vajira Hospital — had to be evacuated as a precaution. The hospital suspended outpatient services for two days. Power and water supply were cut off in the affected area as crews raced to prevent further damage, especially with heavy monsoon rains forecast.


Thailand’s Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul rushed to the site and ordered a full-scale evacuation of people at risk. He warned that repairs to the subway tunnel could take up to a year, a prospect likely to snarl traffic and raise questions over Bangkok’s ambitious infrastructure push.

The collapse has sparked fears over the city’s rapidly expanding underground projects. Just months ago, a March earthquake caused the deadly collapse of an under-construction state audit office building, killing at least 92 people — and critics say Wednesday’s disaster is yet another warning that Bangkok’s infrastructure may be stretched to its limits.