At least 22 killed after crane falls on Thai passenger train

At least 22 people have been killed and about 80 are injured after a train derailed in northeastern Thailand after a construction crane fell on three of its carriages.

The crash took place on Wednesday morning in the Sikhio district of Nakhon Ratchasima province, 230 kilometres northeast of Bangkok. The train was travelling from the capital to the Ubon Ratchathani province, police said.

A construction crane fell onto a passenger train in Nakhon Ratchasima province, Thailand.Credit: State Railway of Thailand via AP

Local police told Reuters there were more bodies in the wreckage that had yet to be retrieved.

“Nineteen bodies have been recovered, but there are still some inside the train carriages that cannot be removed yet because the crane started shifting, so the team pulled back for fear of danger,” Police Colonel Thatchapon Chinnawong said by phone.

Transport Minister Phiphat Ratchakitprakarn said there were 195 passengers on board and that he had ordered a thorough investigation to be carried out.

Nineteen people have been confirmed dead, with fears the death toll will rise.Credit: State Railway of Thailand via AP

Those killed were in two of the three carriages hit by the crane, he said.

The crane was working on a high-speed rail project when it collapsed and hit the passing train, causing it to derail and briefly catch fire.

Images shared by the ministry showed carriages overturned next to shrubland and firefighters extinguishing a blaze as smoke billowed out.

The elevated high-speed rail line, one of several under construction in Thailand, was being built above the existing rail line.

Reuters

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