At least 32 killed as construction crane crushes passenger train in Thailand
Guwahati: At least 32 people lost their lives and 66 others were injured after a construction crane collapsed onto a passenger train in north-eastern Thailand on Wednesday morning.
The accident happened around 9 am local time when the crane fell onto a moving train, forcing it off the tracks and severely damaging several coaches. One of the carriages caught fire after the impact.
Authorities said seven of the injured are in critical condition, including a one-year-old child and an 85-year-old elderly passenger.
Officials confirmed that about 171 passengers were travelling on the train at the time of the incident.
The train was en route from Bangkok to Ubon Ratchathani province and was carrying mainly students and workers commuting for education and employment.
According to local media reports, the crane was lifting a heavy concrete structure as part of an overhead railway project when the load slipped and fell directly onto the train, causing multiple coaches to derail.
A train staff member who survived the crash told local reporters that passengers were violently thrown from their seats when the crane struck.
An eyewitness, Maliwan Nakthon, told BBC Thai that she saw pieces of concrete falling moments before the crane collapsed. She said the entire incident unfolded in less than a minute.
Thai Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul, who is expected to visit the site, said those responsible must be held accountable.
He stated that such accidents typically result from negligence, failure to follow procedures, design deviations, or the use of improper materials.
Authorities have launched an investigation into the incident.
The State Railway of Thailand announced it will take legal action against the construction firm responsible for the crane.
Italian-Thai Development Company, which is overseeing the section of the project where the accident occurred, expressed regret over the incident and said it would compensate the families of those killed and injured. Officials estimate damage to the train alone at more than 100 million baht (about US$3.1 million).
The crane was part of a major China-backed rail project worth US$5.4 billion aimed at linking Bangkok with Laos, which already has a Chinese-built high-speed rail line connecting to south-western China.
The Chinese embassy in Thailand clarified that no Chinese companies or workers were involved in the collapse.
Thailand has witnessed several serious construction-related accidents in recent years, often linked to weak safety enforcement.
In 2023, a train crash in eastern Thailand killed eight people, while road construction projects in the south have claimed around 150 lives over the past seven years.