A train derailed in northeastern Thailand on Wednesday after a construction crane fell on two of its carriages, killing at least 31 people and injuring 64, the Health Ministry said.
The accident took place on Wednesday morning in the Sikhio district in Nakhon Ratchasima province, 230 km (143 miles) northeast of Bangkok, on a train from the capital bound for Ubon Ratchathani province.
Transport Minister Phiphat Ratchakitprakarn said in a statement that there were 195 people on board, adding that he had ordered a thorough investigation to be carried out.
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.
Earlier footage of the crash site shows rescue workers trying to extract casualties from one of the mangled carriages, with some badly injured passengers already being loaded into ambulances.
The elevated high-speed rail project, one of several under construction in Thailand, was being built above the existing rail line.
Part of the collapsed crane is still propped up by the concrete stanchions built to support the new rail link, with debris dangling over the tracks below.
The construction is part of the Bangkok-Nakhon Ratchasima segment of the transnational high-speed rail project linking the Thai capital with southwest China’s Kunming.
Thai Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul, currently campaigning to be reelected in a vote next month, is due to arrive at the scene of the accident later on Wednesday, a government official told reporters.
The Italian-Thai Development Public Company Limited, the company contracted to construct the segment, issued a statement expressing regret and said it would provide compensation and relief to the families of those who died or were injured by the crane collapse.
In March last year, a 30-storey building under construction in Bangkok by a joint venture including ITD collapsed, killing 89 people, after an 8.8-magnitude earthquake struck neighbouring Myanmar.
ITD’s President, Premchai Karnasuta, was indicted in August along with 22 others on allegations of negligence and breaching construction regulations. The executive and 14 others denied wrongdoing when they were first arrested in May.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said at a press briefing that the Chinese government attached great importance to the safety of projects and personnel and was looking into the situation.
“At present, it seems that the relevant section was under construction by a Thai enterprise. The cause of the accident is still under investigation.”
The cross-country high-speed rail project will connect to China through Laos. The government said last year that more than a third of construction had been completed in the segment connecting Bangkok to Nakhon Ratchasima, and the whole line to Nong Khai at the border with Laos would be ready by 2030.
