TL:DR – Crane collapse on train in Thailand leaves at least 32 dead and three missing
- A construction crane collapsed onto a moving train in Thailand, killing at least 32 and injuring around 64.
- The train was derailing while travelling from Bangkok to Ubon Ratchathani when the crane fell.
- Witnesses described severe damage, with one carriage sliced in half.
- The incident occurred at a $5.4 billion high-speed rail project site, part of China’s Belt and Road initiative.
- Authorities plan to take legal action against the contractor after previous safety issues.
At least 32 dead and three missing after crane collapses onto train in Thailand | News World
A construction crane has collapsed onto a moving train in Thailand, killing at least 32 people and injuring around 64 others.
The train, carrying 171 passengers, derailed when the crane, used to build an elevated high-speed railway, fell onto the moving train as it was travelling from Bangkok to Ubon Ratchathani province this morning.
Footage from the scene shows the crane’s broken structure resting on giant concrete pillars above the mangled wreckage of the overturned train.
Local police said there were more bodies that had yet to be retrieved. Three passengers are currently unaccounted for.
Mitr Intrpanya, 54, who was at the scene, described one of the carriages being torn in half by the impact.
He said: ‘At around 9am, I heard a loud noise, like something sliding down from above, followed by two explosions.
‘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.’
Smoke billows from the wreckage of a passenger train after a construction crane collapsed onto it in Thailand (Picture: EPA)
The scene after a crane being used to build a high-speed rail bridge collapsed onto a passenger train (Picture: Anadolu via Getty Images)
The accident happened at a construction site that is part of a $5.4-billion project backed by Beijing to build a high-speed rail network in Thailand.
It aims to connect Bangkok to Kunming in China via Laos by 2028 as part of China’s vast ‘Belt and Road’ infrastructure initiative.
Thatchapon Chinnawong, the district police chief, said 22 people had been confirmed dead and 80 more were injured.
Injured people at the scene in Nakhon Ratchasima (Picture: Anadolu via Getty Images)
‘We are now asking the hospital to say how many people are in critical condition,’ Thatchapon said.
Thailand already has more than 3,000 miles of railway but the run-down network has long driven people to favour travel by road.
Upon completion of the 370-mile high-speed railway, Chinese-made trains will run from Bangkok to Nong Khai, on the Mekong River border with Laos, at up to 150mph.
Industrial and construction site accidents have long been common in Thailand, where lax enforcement of safety regulations often leads to deadly incidents.
Anan Phonimdaeng, acting governor of the State Railway of Thailand, said the project’s contractor is Italian-Thai Development, with a Chinese company responsible for design and construction supervision.
He said authorities will examine the responsibilities of both parties, and the Railway Department plans to take legal action against the contractor as a first step.
The new accident sparked outrage in Thailand because Italian-Thai Development was also directly responsible for construction on the stretch where the accident occurred.
The company, also known as Italthai, was also the co-lead contractor for the State Audit Building in Bangkok, which collapsed during the construction stage in March during an earthquake in neighbouring Myanmar.
About 100 people were killed in the collapse, which was the only major structure in Thailand to suffer such serious damage. Dozens of executives were indicted in connection with the disaster, but none have yet been tried.
The involvement of Chinese companies in both projects has also drawn attention, as has Italthai’s and Chinese companies’ involvement in the construction of several expressway extensions in and around Bangkok, where several accidents, some fatal, have occurred.