A cement walkway collapsed and killed five workers at a factory in Thailand.

The workers were relocating the 66x66ft concrete mezzanine floor when the steel structure supporting it buckled at the Thai Yanagawa Co auto parts factory at the Rojana Prachinburi Industrial Park in Prachinburi province on December 30.

The structure fell from a height of 10 feet and buried the workers beneath the heavy debris.

A rescue team arrived at the scene at around 9:35 am. They broke through the fallen concrete slabs and collected the bodies of five male workers crushed under the rubble.

The deceased were identified by officials as Nirun Tosantia, Yongyuth Dokkularb, Thanapol Pongpraket, Jirayuth Saetun, and Kheab Jongprakhon. 

A factory welder, Pranon, said: 'I was shocked because it happened right in front of me. The falling steel narrowly missed my head, I thought I would never see my family again. I called the rescue team immediately after the collapse.'

Police Colonel Mongkol Tohpao, superintendent of Sri Maha Phot District Police Station, said: 'Investigators are collecting evidence to find the cause of the incident.'

Thailand in recent months has seen several fatal infrastructure failures.

On November 6, a dust barrier collapsed at a construction site in Samsen Soi 24 area of Bangkok. One worker was impaled in the chest with a steel rebar.

On November 29, a giant 'Good Luck' Buddha statue toppled over and crushed a monk at a temple in Amnat Charoen province.

While on the same day, a gantry crane collapsed and killed at least four workers on the notorious Rama II Road in Samut Sakhon province.