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.
“Twenty-two people were killed and more than 30 were injured,” a local police chief in Nakhon Ratchasima province, Thatchapon Chinnawong, told AFP.
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.
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.
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.
Transport Minister Phiphat Ratchakitprakarn said 195 people were on board the train and authorities were rushing to identify the deceased.
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.
Industrial and construction site accidents have long been common in Thailand, where lax enforcement of safety regulations often leads to deadly incidents.
Source: CNA
