Amid the widespread devastation in Myanmar caused by a 7.7-magnitude earthquake which killed over 1,600 people and injured nearly 3,000, the collapse of an under-construction high-rise building in Bangkok, which is more than a 1,000km away from the epicentre, has raised suspicion.

None of the other high-rise buildings in the Thailand capital, either under construction or completed, was affected by the earthquake, raising concerns over the structural integrity of the collapsed skyscraper, which was a joint venture involving a Chinese firm. Seventeen people have been confirmed dead, while around 80 are still missing, with most of them believed to be trapped beneath the rubble.

Thailand’s Deputy Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul has ordered a probe into the collapse of the 33-storey building, and asked the expert panel to determine the cause in seven days. It was a joint venture between Italian-Thai Development Plc and China Railway Number 10 (Thailand) Ltd. The collapsed structure was part of the project constructed over three years.

To make matters worse, four Chinese nationals have been detained for illegally entering the site of the collapse and allegedly trying to retrieve documents from there. The National Thailand quoted Police Major General Nopasin Poolswat, Deputy Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police Bureau, as saying that the men were removing 32 files from the collapsed State Audit Office (SAO) building, without permission. The area of the building collapse was declared a disaster zone, where no one was allowed to enter without authorisation.

The four men, reportedly, claimed that they were subcontractors working for a contractor under Italian-Thai Development Plc, and that they entered the area to retrieve documents needed for an insurance claim.

Emergency crews using cranes and sniffer dogs continued the search for the people believed to be buried under the rubble. Bangkok Governor Chadchart Sittipunt said the search will continue even after 72 hours, since thermal body scans of the rubble indicated there may still be people alive underneath.