Rayong: The families of the construction workers killed in a tower crane collapse at a site in Pluak Daeng district in this eastern province will be paid 1.6 million baht in compensation.
Rescue workers were on Saturday allowed to retrieve the bodies of seven workers at the scene after several hours of negotiations.
The accident took place at 5pm on Friday when a tower crane at the factory construction site collapsed and killed seven people -- six Myanmar nationals and one Chinese. One Myanmar worker was also injured.
After the accident, hundreds of workers refused to let rescue workers retrieve the bodies of the victims until the company agreed to pay 5 million baht in compensation.
Local MPs, police, the chief of Pluak Daeng district, families of the victims and the management of the factory met at 11pm on Friday and initially proposed 2 million baht in compensation excluding Social Security Fund membership reimbursements.
However, Rayong MP Chutiphong Pipoppinyo said management refused the proposal.
Representatives from the Worker Assistance Group for Myanmar (WAG) later arrived and a 1.6-million baht payment to families of the victims was agreed, with a preliminary 500,000 baht to be followed by the rest within three months, Mr Chutiphong said.
After the workers were informed of the agreement, they allowed rescue vehicles to retrieve the bodies for identification at Pluak Daeng Hospital.
Watcharin Gasaluck, president of Engineering Institute of Thailand, on Saturday led a team of experts to inspect the site as part of the investigation into the cause of the accident.