Demolition worker spotted swinging sledgehammer at 12-storey apartment block in Thailand


This was the moment a fearless worker made the first sledgehammer blows - single-handedly demolishing an old hotel.

The one-man wrecking squad placed a huge banner over the derelict building in Chaing Mai, northern Thailand, on August 11.

He then clambered onto the roof to begin the painstaking and highly dangerous job of tearing down the 12 storey block.

Footage shows him striking the first chunks of concrete from the canopy of the building, beginning the two-year-long job.

Bureaucracy, strict laws, high costs and a lack of specialists make dynamite demolitions in Thailand near impossible so almost all of the derelict buildings have to be picked apart by hand.

Speaking today, the man in the video said: ''We just started this month. The building used to be a hotel.

''I drilled some of the concrete first to weaken it then we started the work with the sledgehammer.

''We are not allowed to use dynamite to demolish buildings here. Everything must be done by hand. So it's very difficult.

''A hospital will be built here when we're finished. But it's going to take a long time to finish the job.''