Bangkok residents witnessed a terrifying scene this morning when the ground suddenly gave way outside Vajira Hospital, creating a massive sinkhole that shocked onlookers and disrupted one of the busiest areas of the city.
Video from the Associated Press captures the chilling moment: traffic moving as usual, pedestrians walking along the street — and then, without warning, the asphalt buckled and collapsed, leaving a gaping crater in front of the hospital entrance.
Witnesses described hearing a deep rumble before the ground caved in. One bystander recalled, “It sounded like thunder from beneath our feet. Everyone started screaming and running away.”
The sinkhole, estimated to be several meters wide and dangerously deep, instantly swallowed sections of the road, sending dust and debris flying into the air. Cars stopped in their tracks, and people rushed to pull others back from the edge.
Emergency crews arrived within minutes, setting up barricades and working to stabilize the area. Engineers have since been inspecting the site, with officials suggesting that recent heavy rainfall may have eroded the ground beneath the surface, weakening the foundation until it gave way.
Fortunately, no deaths or serious injuries have been reported so far. But the collapse created massive disruption, cutting off access to key hospital entrances and forcing traffic diversions in the already congested capital. Patients and staff had to be rerouted through side streets as crews worked urgently to assess the damage.
Authorities are calling this a wake-up call for Bangkok’s aging infrastructure, warning that with increased rainfall and flooding, similar sinkholes could pose threats across the city.
As one local resident put it:
“It’s terrifying — you never think the ground under your feet will just disappear.”
👉 Investigations are still underway, but for now, the massive hole outside Vajira Hospital stands as a stark reminder of nature’s power — and the fragile safety we take for granted every day.