Crane falls onto moving train in Thailand, killing dozens in fiery derailment
Bangkok — A construction crane fell onto a moving passenger train, causing a fiery derailment that killed at least 30 people Wednesday in northeastern Thailand, authorities said. Another 64 people were injured and rescuers were still searching the wreckage and giving first aid.
The derailment occurred on part of an ambitious planned high-speed rail project that will eventually connect China with much of Southeast Asia.
Anuphong Suksomnit, the governor of Nakhon Ratchasima province, where the accident took place, said four passengers among the 171 believed to have been on board the train were still missing. Searchers were still looking through the wreckage about eight hours after the morning crash.
The crane, which was being used to build an elevated part of the railway, fell as the train was traveling from Bangkok to Ubon Ratchathani province, according to the public relations office for Nakhon Ratchasima province, where the accident occurred some 143 miles northeast of Bangkok.
Photos published in Thai media showed plumes of white, then dark smoke above the scene and construction equipment hanging down from between two concrete support pillars.
Rescue workers stood on top of overturned railway carriages, some of them with gaping holes torn on their sides, video from public broadcaster ThaiPBS showed. What appeared to be sections of the crane were scattered along the track.
Thai media reported the train had three carriages, the last two being the most heavily damaged.
Transport Minister Piphat Ratchakitprakan said 195 people were on board the train. He said he ordered an investigation.
Area resident Mitr Intrpanya, 54, told French news agency AFP she "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."
In August 2024, a railway tunnel on the planned route, also in Nakhon Ratchasima, collapsed, killing three workers. Days of heavy rainfall were believed to have been a factor in the collapse.
The elevated segment that collapsed is a part of the Thai-Chinese high-speed railway project linking Bangkok, Thailand's capital to the northeastern province of Nong Khai, bordering Laos. The two-stage rail project has a total cost of more than 520 billion baht ($16.8 billion) and is associated with an ambitious plan to connect China with Southeast Asia under Beijing's Belt and Road Initiative.
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. Damage to the train was estimated to be more than 100 million baht ($3.2 million), while construction equipment suffered limited damage, said Anan.
A statement posted on the company's website expressed condolences to the victims and said the company would take responsibility for paying compensation to the families of the dead and hospitalization expenses for the injured.
Anger intensifying
The new accident sparked outrage in Thailand because the main contractor for the route's first stage between Bangkok and Nakhon Ratchasima, 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 the Thai capital Bangkok, which collapsed during the construction stage in March during an earthquake in neighboring 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, had occurred.
Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul, who was interior minister when the State Audit Building collapsed, said the Comptroller General's Department and Transport Ministry are responsible for blacklisting contractors, and the laws couldn't be amended in the brief time he was interior minister to expedite the matter.
In Beijing, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said the government was aware of the reports about the accident and had expressed condolences.
"The Chinese government attaches great importance to the safety of projects and personnel, and we are also learning about the situation," he said. "At present, it appears that the relevant section is being constructed by a Thai company, and the cause of the accident is still under investigation."