CRANE COLLAPSE ON MOVING TRAIN IN THAILAND CLAIMS 28 LIVES
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By: Balogun Ibrahim
A crane at a China-backed high-speed rail project in Thailand collapsed onto a passenger train on Wednesday, causing a derailment that killed at least 28 people and injured dozens more, officials said.
Footage verified by The Media showed the massive crane collapsed onto giant concrete pillars, with smoke rising from the wrecked train below.
Rescuers were seen working to extract passengers from the tilted carriages in Nakhon Ratchasima province, northeast of Bangkok.
Mitr Intrpanya, who witnessed the incident, told The Media.
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he 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 resting on a passenger train with three carriages,” the 54-year-old said. “The metal from the crane appeared to strike the middle of the second carriage, slicing it in half.”
The Health Ministry confirmed that 28 people were killed and 64 others hospitalized, seven of them in serious condition.
The accident occurred at a construction site that is part of a Beijing-backed, over $5 billion project to build a high-speed rail network in Thailand.
The project is designed to link Bangkok to Kunming in China through Laos by 2028, as part of China’s extensive “Belt and Road” infrastructure initiative.
Engineering consultant Theerachote Rujiviphat, an adviser on the high-speed rail project, told AFP that Italian-Thai Development, the Thai company contracted to build the section where the crane collapsed, was solely responsible for the accident.
Theerachote, from the China Railway Design Corporation, said the launching crane that fell onto the rail tracks also belonged to Italian-Thai Development.
“It is the only company in charge. A similar accident also occurred a few years ago under their responsibility,” he added.
A spokesperson for Italian-Thai Development, one of Thailand’s largest construction firms, said the company could not immediately respond to The Media’s inquiries.
Thai Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul said authorities must investigate the cause of the crane collapse and ensure those responsible are held accountable.
“These kinds of incidents happen very frequently,” he told reporters in Bangkok.
“I have heard that it involves the same company. It is time to change the law to blacklist construction firms that are repeatedly responsible for accidents.”
Italian-Thai Development and its director were among more than 20 individuals and companies indicted in August over the collapse of a Bangkok high-rise during an earthquake, which killed around 90 people, mostly construction workers.
China’s foreign ministry said Beijing is investigating Wednesday’s accident and “attaches great importance to the safety of this project and its personnel.”
“Currently, it appears that the relevant section is being constructed by a Thai company,” spokeswoman Mao Ning said during a regular press briefing, adding China’s “condolences for the casualties resulting from the accident.”
The Nakhon Ratchasima provincial public relations department said the crane fell onto a train traveling from Bangkok to Ubon Ratchathani province, “causing it to derail and catch fire.”
Thatchapon Chinnawong, Sikhio district police chief, told AFP that rescue operations resumed after a brief pause due to a “chemical leakage” at the scene.
Transport Minister Phiphat Ratchakitprakarn said 195 passengers were on board the train, and authorities were working to identify the deceased.
Thailand’s rail network spans around 5,000 kilometres (3,107 miles), but its ageing infrastructure has long made road travel the preferred option for many.
Once completed, the 600-kilometre high-speed railway will see Chinese-made trains run from Bangkok to Nong Khai, on the Mekong River border with Laos, at speeds of up to 250 kilometres per hour.
In 2020, then-Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-Cha, who promoted closer ties with Beijing, signed a deal for Thailand to fund the project while using China-advised technology.
Industrial and construction accidents are common in Thailand, where weak enforcement of safety regulations has led to deadly incidents. In 2023, a freight train struck a pickup truck crossing railway tracks in eastern Thailand, killing eight people.
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