A tragic accident occurred in Bangkok on Saturday, August 17, when a Thai window cleaner fell to his death after a scaffold gondola platform collapsed from the 31st floor of a hotel in Soi Sukhumvit 24. The incident happened at around 3:49 p.m. in the Khlong Toei district, prompting an immediate response from Thong Lo Police Station, a forensic doctor from King Chulalongkorn Memorial Hospital, and rescue personnel from the Ruamkatanyu Foundation.
The victim, identified as 34-year-old Thanu Chanprasert, was found lifeless in the hotel’s seventh-floor swimming pool, suffering from a severe open skull wound. Nearby, the dark blue scaffold gondola platform, with its sling ropes torn, lay as evidence of the fatal fall.
Initial investigations by the police pointed to a possible malfunction of the electric gondola. However, further questioning of Thanu’s colleague, who survived the incident, revealed that the accident was likely due to Thanu’s own negligence.
According to his colleague, both men had been in the gondola, replacing the sling ropes. Thanu was in the process of tightening the screws when it became apparent that the screws had not been securely fastened, causing the heavy gondola to plummet. Despite safety regulations requiring workers to secure themselves to the building’s stainless-steel handrail with two safety ropes, Thanu had only used one, leading to his fatal fall along with the platform.
It was reported that Thanu’s colleague managed to survive by adhering to safety protocols and using two ropes, which kept him securely attached to the building.
