This afternoon, Dr Suchatvee Suwansawat, the president of the Engineering Institute of Thailand, together with a group of engineering experts from King Mongkut's Institute of Technology Ladkrabang inspected the site of the subsidence.
From an initial inspection Dr Suchatvee said the cause of the damage to the townhouses was likely a movement of the foundation pilings and the damp condition of the soil underneath which used to be a swampy area. A similar situation occurred about five years ago which led to legal action against the construction company and the site developer.
Dr Suchatvee said it would be necessary to dig up samples of the soil and have it tested, a procedure that will likely cost about 20,000 baht. The big danger now isthat rain over the next several days might worsen the situation.