Crane falls on train in Thailand's northeast, killing 22 people
The crane, which was working on a high-speed rail project, had collapsed and hit the passenger train, causing it to derail and briefly catch fire.
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BANGKOK: A train travelling from Thailand's capital to the country's northeast was derailed on Wednesday (Jan 14) after a construction crane fell on top of one of its carriages, killing 22 people, local authorities said.
Thatchapon Chinnawong, the district police chief told AFP 22 people had been confirmed dead and 80 more were injured.
"We are now asking the hospital to say how many people are in critical condition," Thatchapon said.
The accident took place on Wednesday morning in the Sikhio district of Nakhon Ratchasima province, 230km northeast of Bangkok, on a train bound for Ubon Ratchathani province.
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"At around 9am, I heard a loud noise, like something sliding down from above, followed by two explosions," said local resident Mitr Intrpanya, 54, who was at the scene.
"When I went to see what had happened, I found the crane sitting on a passenger train with three carriages.
"The metal from the crane appeared to strike the middle of the second carriage, slicing it in half," Mitr told AFP.
Local police told Reuters by phone that a crane working on a high-speed rail project collapsed and hit the passing train, causing it to derail and briefly catch fire.
Footage from the scene verified by AFP showed the crane's broken structure resting on giant concrete pillars, with smoke rising from the wreckage of the train below.
The fire has been extinguished and rescue work is now underway, police said.
Live footage aired by local media showed rescue workers rushing to the scene, with a brightly coloured train derailed on its side as smoke billowed from the debris.
Thatchapon, the police chief, later told AFP that authorities were pausing the rescue operation due to "chemical leakage" at the scene.
Transport Minister Phiphat Ratchakitprakarn said 195 people were on board the train and authorities were rushing to identify the deceased.
He ordered officials to determine the cause of the accident, according to a statement.
The crane was being used in the construction of a US$5.4 billion project to build a high-speed rail network in Thailand, backed by Beijing, which aims to connect Bangkok to Kunming in China via Laos by 2028 as part of China's vast Belt and Road infrastructure initiative.
Thailand already has around 5,000km of railway but the run-down network has long driven people to favour travel by road.
Upon completion of the 600km high-speed railway, Chinese-made trains will run from Bangkok to Nong Khai, on the Mekong River border with Laos, at up to 250 kmh.
Industrial and construction site accidents have long been common in Thailand, where lax enforcement of safety regulations often leads to deadly incidents.
In 2023, a freight train killed eight people after it struck a pickup truck crossing railway tracks in eastern Thailand.
A freight train killed at least 18 people and injured more than 40 others in 2020 when it crashed into a bus carrying passengers to a religious ceremony.
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