Prime Minister Inspects MRT Tunnel Water Leak, Fears Road Collapse Repeat

Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul led a site inspection at Taksin Roundabout on July 9 after water leaked into a sump beneath the southern purple line MRT tunnel throughout the day. The leakage began on July 8 following heavy rain. Deputy PM Pipat Ratchakitprakarn, Transport Minister Sirirot Angsakulkitti, and other senior officials accompanied him to assess the situation from an engineering perspective.

Anuthin stated the water volume inside the tunnel does not yet warrant road closure, as it remains manageable. He noted the structural condition at this location differs from the Vajira Hospital incident, where the tunnel collapsed and caused the roadway above to cave in. In the current case, authorities detected the leak early and are rapidly sealing it while monitoring water levels, which show no signs of rising. The State Railway has installed structural displacement sensors, and the situation remains normal under close watch, with inspections expected to conclude soon.

When asked if the urgent late-night response reflected concerns about repeating the Vajira Hospital disaster, Anutin confirmed that incident provided a painful lesson prompting today's preventive readiness. He emphasized public safety as paramount, noting all parties—the railway authority, consulting engineers, and contractors—confirmed they can control the situation and work swiftly to restore normalcy. Journalists humorously noted the prime minister had summoned several ministers to the site, to which Anutin replied he had informed them via a group chat that he was heading there.