At least 31 killed after crane collapses onto speeding train in Thailand ‘slicing it in half’

At least 31 people have been killed in northeast Thailand after a construction crane collapsed onto a speeding train, causing it to derail and burst into flames.

Deputy prime minister and transport minister Phiphat Ratchakitprakarn said 195 passengers were on board at the time.

The incident occurred in the Sikhio district of Nakhon Ratchasima province, 230km (143 miles) northeast of Bangkok, where the train originated on Wednesday.

At least 64 others have been injured, with seven seriously hurt. Those suffering the most serious injuries were transferred to major hospitals, with others treated nearer the crash site.

The crane was working on part of an ambitious Thai-Chinese high-speed project linking the national capital Bangkok to the northeastern province of Nong Khai, bordering Laos.

Mr Ratchakitprakarn said the governor of the State Railway of Thailand had been instructed to conduct a “thorough and comprehensive” investigation into the cause of the accident.

open image in gallery

He added that officials are verifying the identities of those affected and closely monitoring the injured, noting that compensation would be provided to the families of the deceased if they were railway workers.

Thailand’s acting prime minister, Anutin Charnvirakul, called on “all responsible parties” to be punished and held accountable for the incident.

Special express train number 21 was travelling from Bangkok to Ubon Ratchathani at 120kmph when it was struck by a falling construction crane at around 9.13am local time. The train had last departed from Nong Nam Khun station in Nakhon Ratchasima province and was headed for the next station when the incident happened.

The train had three carriages in total, with the crane impacting the middle car. Officials said the majority of those killed and injured were in the second and last carriages.

open image in gallery

Images aired by Thai TV showed plumes of smoke rising from the derailed carriages of the train, and construction equipment hanging down from between two concrete support pillars.

Rescue workers were seen standing on top of overturned railway carriages, some of them with gaping holes torn in their sides, video from public broadcaster ThaiPBS showed.

A member of the train’s staff has said that he and the passengers were thrown into the air by the impact when the crane fell.

Thirasak Wongsoongnern told Thairath Online he had tried to help passengers but was unable to reach them as the second carriage had already caught fire.

open image in gallery

Mitr Intrpanya, 54, a local resident who was at the scene, said he saw the crane strike the second carriage of the train “slicing it in half”.

“At around 9am, I heard a loud noise, like something sliding down from above, followed by two explosions,” he told AFP.

“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.”

The company responsible for the construction project where the crane collapsed expressed its “deepest condolences” over the tragic incident.

Italian-Thai Development Public Company Limited, one of Thailand’s largest construction companies, was in charge of the Lam Takhong-Sikhio section of the project where the incident took place.

open image in gallery

The company said it “takes full responsibility and will provide compensation and assistance to the families of the deceased and medical care to the injured”.

“The company is ready to support officials from all sectors to expedite the process of resolving the situation and returning it to normal as quickly as possible.”

ITD was set up in the 1950s as a joint venture between a Thai and an Italian businessman, but is now wholly Thai-operated and headquartered in Bangkok. The same company was involved in the construction of a Bangkok building which collapsed in March during an earthquake.

At least 95 people were killed in that incident and the company’s president and several other officials were charged with professional negligence.

Mr Charnvirakul said the cause of the incident was not yet known, but said the joint Thai-China project had experienced “several incidents before”, citing a tunnel collapse about a year ago that killed all three workers.

open image in gallery

“Accidents like this can only happen due to negligence, skipped steps, deviations from the design, or the use of incorrect materials,” he said.

He added that officials would “need to investigate whether there were any construction errors or deviations from proper procedures”.

The Chinese government appeared to distance itself from the incident, noting that the section involved was being constructed by a Thai company.

The two-stage joint project has faced delays and disputes since it was kicked off in 2015. It has a total investment of more than 520bn baht (£12.2bn) and is part of an ambitious plan to connect China with south-east Asia under Beijing's Belt and Road Initiative.

The crash is among the deadliest rail accidents Thailand has seen in years, but it is not an isolated incident.

In 2023, a freight train crashed into a pick-up truck that was crossing railway tracks, killing eight people and injuring four others.