Workers are clearing debris from a collapsed motorway bridge that killed six people in Thailand.

Authorities were removing rubble from the under-construction expressway bridge near Rama II Road in Bangkok, where a concrete beam had fallen onto an existing structure on March 15.

At least six workers were killed and 22 more were injured, officials said.

The Expressway Authority of Thailand (Exat) said clearing operations were '90 per cent complete', with traffic in the area expected to return to normal by Thursday, March 20.

Exat governor Surachet Laophulsuk said on March 18: 'The continuous demolition over the past four days has resulted in a lot of progress, especially the road leading up to the expressway at the Dao Khanong checkpoint.

'Today, officials will be able to completely demolish and bring down the entire structure. But tomorrow, the Engineering Council of Thailand will come to inspect the safety of the area. The fact-finding committee will also investigate the cause of the collapse of the structure.'

Exat said it was evaluating the appropriate compensation for the families of the fatalities, who may receive more than one million Baht (around 23,000 GBP) each in financial aid.

The organisation also suspended the contractor, Italian-Thai Development, for 14 days to make way for investigations.

Exat said in a statement: 'As for the contractor, the Expressway Authority of Thailand has ordered suspension of work for 14 days, with a fine of 16 million Baht per day, for a total fine of approximately 100 million baht. In addition to the mistakes that occurred, if the fact-finding committee determines that someone was negligent and caused the accident, they will be prosecuted and punished according to the law.'

The Rama II Road has been dubbed by locals as 'The Road with Never-Ending Construction' as it remains incomplete even after 50 years of construction. Between 2018 and January 2024, over 2,500 accidents occurred on the road, leading to 132 deaths and 1,305 injuries.