A Council of Engineers (COE) official revealed the National Housing Authority (NHA) had put pressure on it to give negative reports about the structural problems of a number of the buildings.

COE committee member Seubsak Phrombutra said the engineers had rejected the NHA's lobbying for professional reasons.

Deputy Prime Minister Paiboon Wattanasiritham said the main issue involved buildings one to eight and 21 to 32.

He said he had instructed the NHA to give priority to those affected, to engage the community in solving the problem and to inform the public about the results of the inspections ahead of a public hearing.

Seubsak said an inspection team had spent more time yesterday studying the structural stability of the apartment buildings. This followed disagreement by some engineers with a previous inspection that concluded toilet and garbage dumping areas were in urgent need of repair. They felt that deterioration would not stop even after the repairs.

Seubsak said it was the NHA's responsibility to explain the problems to the residents. He urged it to consider the residents' needs and problems rather than focusing solely on the economics of the issue.

Meanwhile many residents of the 20 apartment buildings continued to resist efforts to tear down some of the blocks. They have posted large signs opposing demolition, and insisted they would rather die in the apartments than move out.

Chao phya :Bridging the gaps

Bangkok administrators are reviewing old plans to build four bridges across the Chao Phraya River.

The projects were previously suspended due to bid-collusion scandals.

"Bangkok Governor Apirak Kosayodhin has now approved a Bt191 million budget to hire four advisory companies for the four bridge-construction projects," Jumpol Sampaopol, deputy director of the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration's Public Works Department, said yesterday.

Jumpol said the four projects would require Bt11 billion in funds, which would be provided by the central government.

He said the bridges would be built from Rachawongse Pier to Din Daeng Pier, Lad Yah Road to Maha Prutharam Road, Chan Road to Charoen Nakhon Road, and at the Kiakkai Intersection. - The Nation.

n reptile warning

Lizards endanger children

Thousands of water monitor lizards living around Bangkok could harm young children, a senior veterinarian warned yesterday.

The warning from vet Alongkorn Mahannop followed news reports at the weekend that a large number of the reptiles attempted to attack a 26-day-old baby left sleeping alone in a home in Ayutthaya during heavy flooding.

He also clarified that the reptiles were not "tree monitors", as reported, but a separate type of lizard similar in appearance. Both usually fed on animal carcasses and did not normally harm humans, he said.

Alongkorn advised people to dispose of dead animals in their neighbourhoods to avoid attracting the animals, adding that they were driven away by the smell of petrol.

He estimated that there were around 200 water monitors living in sewage drains or near water sources in each of Bangkok's 50 districts. "The reptiles live and breed in Bangkok because nobody hunts or eats them. But in the provinces they live in remote areas far from people because they are wanted as food," he said.

Rescuers killed :Double road accident

Three people were killed and seven others injured when a speeding pick-up truck rammed into a group of rescue workers as they were assisting at a car accident in Chachoengsao's Ban Pho district at about 9.30pm on Sunday.

Rescue workers Kampol Kaewpikul and Chatchai Putthikul, both 29, died instantly while three of the other seven injured workers were in critical condition at Sotharavej Hospital.

Another worker, Kriengsak Yimlamai, 16, succumbed to his injuries and was pronounced dead at 1.15am yesterday.

The nine rescue workers were helping at an accident scene on Bang Prakong-Chachoengsao Road, in which a car overturned in front of a car-assembly plant, but no one was killed or injured.

The pickup truck rammed into them and sped away, leaving behind its front grille. Police have not found the pick-up truck yet.

An eyewitness, factory security guard Thawat Noppalert, 38, said he saw both accidents. He said the pick-up truck - which dragged a rescue worker's body 400 metres from the scene of the first accident - almost plunged into a roadside ditch but managed to escape the scene.