An aging wooden structure that housed offices in the Ministry of Information compound collapsed Saturday morning, ministry officials said. Nobody was injured in the collapse, as ministry employees were either off for the weekend or in other locations preparing for this week’s Asean Summit.
Ministry officials said that the collapse began before dawn Saturday and ended finally in the early evening.
About two months ago, when it became obvious that the building was going to fall, Pok Hak said that he had moved his staff to another room nearby.
Witnesses said Sunday that the roof and walls of the building fell, piece by piece all day. No one was able to stop it. “Nobody can control it, it is nature,” one witness said.
Minister of Information Lu Laysreng said Sunday that he blames the building’s collapse on the government’s slow approval of funds for the renovation, which he said was to cost around $1 million.
The minister said he would still like to renovate the building if the Ministry of Finance approves it.
