Rama IV Road reopened after repair of "sinkhole"

BANGKOK, March 19 (TNA) - Rama IV Road in the heart of Bangkok has been reopened to normal traffic, after a repair of a "sinkhole" was complete early Monday morning. Workers of the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) had urgently repaired the "sinkhole", five metres wide and one metre deep, overnight and the work was complete at around 3am Monday morning, timely for normal rush hours in working days in the Thai capital. A section of the inbound Rama IV Road under the Thai-Belgian Bridge, near Lumpini Park and the Lumpini electric train station, abruptly subsided, looking like a "sinkhole", Sunday evening, causing traffic snarls and then the temporary closure of the road for public safety and the immediate repair. There were no reports of casualties. Bangkok Governor M.R. Sukhumbhand Paribatra, who rushed to inspect the scene, called a meeting with agencies concerned this morning, including those under the BMA, as well as the Metropolitan Waterworks Authority (MWA) and the Mass Rapid Transit Authority of Thailand (MRTA), to find out the real cause of the road subsiding. What laid down beneath the damaged section of the Rama IV Road reportedly include parts of the capital's electric train founding structure, the MWA's water pipe systems and the BMA's drainage systems. Authorities concerned have, however, assumed that the Rama IV Road subsiding was caused by at least a problem releated to the BMA's drainage systems laid down beneath the area. (TNA)