Royal Plaza Hotel Collapse: Thailand’s 1993 Korat Disaster, 137 Dead, and the Cost of Negligence | 037

On August 13, 1993, the Royal Plaza Hotel in Nakhon Ratchasima, Thailand, collapsed in less than ten seconds. Inside were teachers attending an education seminar, Shell employees in a meeting, hotel staff working their shifts, Thai and foreign guests, and people who had trusted the building the way all of us trust public spaces without thinking twice.By the time the rubble was cleared, 137 people were dead and more than 200 were injured. Some survivors were trapped in darkness beneath concrete. Some sent messages through tubes. Some lived with permanent disability. One teacher, Malee Sukya, survived after crying out that she had three children. Chavalit Tantaseraneewat survived, lost his right leg, and later became a public voice for engineering ethics and building safety.This episode of Shadows of Siam tells the story of Thailand’s 1993 Korat disaster not as a dry structural failure, but as a human tragedy shaped by ordinary lives, rescue workers, grieving families, survivor memory, and the cost of negligence. We follow the people inside the hotel, the collapse and rescue effort, the investigation into unsafe additions and structural failure, the legal aftermath, and the way Korat still carries the memory of what happened.This episode includes discussion of a mass-casualty disaster, death, serious injury, permanent disability, and alleged negligence. Listener discretion is advised.Sources:Collapse of the Royal Plaza Hotel - Wikipediahttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Collapse_of_the_Royal_Plaza_Hotelความจริงไม่ตาย - โรงแรมถล่ม ฝังตายทั้งเป็น - Thai PBShttps://www.thaipbs.or.th/program/TruthNeverDies/episodes/62554Hotel collapse victims remembered 24 years on - The Nation Thailandhttps://www.nationthailand.com/in-focus/30323828Court orders five to pay Bt152 million compensation for Korat Hotel collapse - The Nationhttps://www.nationthailand.com/news/30096946List of disasters in Thailand - Wikipediahttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_disasters_in_ThailandNakhon Ratchasima - Wikipediahttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nakhon_RatchasimaThe Gazette, Aug. 16, 1993, Associated Press report: “Six arrested; rescue crews dig on in hotel collapse” - Newspapers.com archive clippingThe Globe and Mail, Aug. 16, 1993, Associated Press report: “Crews search for survivors of collapsed hotel” - Newspapers.com archive clippingPueblo Chieftain, Aug. 19, 1993, Associated Press report: “Survivor tale: Thievery ruse?” - Newspapers.com archive clippingThe Independent archival reporting on Royal Plaza Hotel collapse survivors, including Malee Sukya and Janet MawdsleyUnited Press International historical archive reporting on Royal Plaza Hotel collapse victims, including Raymon D. CandaThe New Paper / National Library Board Singapore archival reporting on Pannee Veesaphen and the pregnant survivor rescueKorat community-memory posts and public remembrance material, treated carefully where details remain unconfirmed#ShadowsOfSiam #RoyalPlazaHotelCollapse #ThailandTrueCrime #KoratDisaster #NakhonRatchasima