Today, on January 14, a construction crane collapsed onto a passenger train traveling from Bangkok to Ubon Ratchathani city in Thailand's Nakhon Ratchasima province. Dozens of people were killed as a result of the incident. Reporting on this, citing the country's Ministry of Transport, “Reuters” reported.
It is noted that in the northeastern region of Thailand, a construction crane collapsed onto three carriages of the train, causing it to derail. According to preliminary information, at least 19 people were killed and about 80 passengers were injured.
The tragedy occurred on the morning of January 14 in the Sikhio district, an area located approximately 230 kilometers northeast of Bangkok. The train was traveling from the capital towards Ubon Ratchathani province.
According to local police information, there may still be bodies under the rubble that have not been found. Search and rescue operations are ongoing.
“The bodies of nineteen people have been found, but due to the risk of the crane sliding further, it is currently impossible to extract some people still trapped inside the train carriages. For this reason, rescuers were forced to temporarily retreat”, — says police colonel Tatchapol Chinna-wong.
Transport Minister Phiphat Ratchakitprakarn, in his statement, informed that there were 195 passengers on board the train and ordered a detailed investigation into the incident. According to him, the majority of the deceased were in two of the three carriages hit by the crane.
The crane collapsed while construction work was being carried out as part of a high-speed railway project. The crane's collision with the passing train resulted in the train derailing and a fire breaking out shortly after.
For information, this high-speed railway line is one of the major infrastructure projects being implemented in Thailand, and it was being constructed over the existing railway network.
