Crane collapses in Bangkok a day after train derailment killed 32; dashcam captures shocking footage

A construction crane collapsed onto an elevated road near Bangkok on Thursday, killing two people, just a day after a separate crane accident derailed a passenger train in northeastern Thailand, leaving 32 people dead.

The two incidents prompted Thai Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul to announce late on Thursday that the government would terminate contracts with the contractors involved in both projects.

How did the accident happen?

 

Thursday’s crane collapse occurred on an extension of the Rama 2 Road expressway, a major route leading south from Bangkok that has become notorious for repeated construction accidents, some of them fatal. The incident took place in Samut Sakhon province, where the crane fell onto the roadway, crushing two vehicles beneath the wreckage.

Transport Minister Phiphat Ratchakitprakarn confirmed that two people were killed.

Train derailment, a day ago

Meanwhile, officials concluded search and rescue operations following Wednesday’s train derailment. Authorities said three passengers initially listed as missing were believed to have disembarked earlier. About 171 people were thought to have been on board the train’s three carriages, with nearly 70 injured.

Thailand’s Foreign Ministry confirmed that a German national was among those killed, while South Korea’s Foreign Ministry said a South Korean man in his late 30s had also died.

The train was travelling on a high-speed rail line linked to a project intended to connect China with Southeast Asia under Beijing’s Belt and Road Initiative. In August 2024, a railway tunnel on the same planned route in Nakhon Ratchasima province collapsed, killing three workers.

Anan Phonimdaeng, acting governor of the State Railway of Thailand, said the rail project’s contractor was Italian-Thai Development, with a Chinese firm responsible for design and construction supervision. Transport Minister Phiphat said Italian-Thai Development, also known as Italthai, was the lead contractor for the highway project where Thursday’s crane collapse occurred.

Italthai issued statements after both accidents expressing condolences and offering to cooperate fully with rescue efforts and investigations.

The company was also a co-lead contractor on the State Audit Building in Bangkok, which collapsed while under construction during a major earthquake last March, killing about 100 people. The quake’s epicentre was in Myanmar, but the building’s collapse represented the most severe damage in Thailand.

In that case, 23 individuals and companies have been indicted, including Italthai’s president and the local director of China Railway No. 10, its joint venture partner. Charges include professional negligence causing death and document forgery.

The repeated involvement of Italthai and Chinese companies in major infrastructure projects has drawn increased scrutiny, particularly following a series of fatal accidents on expressway extensions in and around Bangkok.

Chinese Ambassador Zhang Jianwei offered condolences to Prime Minister Anutin on Thursday and pledged full cooperation and transparency in the investigation into the railway accident. He also stressed the project’s importance to bilateral strategic cooperation.

Following a meeting with relevant government agencies, Anutin ordered the Transport Ministry to immediately terminate contracts with the companies involved in the two most recent accidents. He said the contractors would be blacklisted and face full legal prosecution.

The government will seek new contractors to complete unfinished projects and will finance the work by seizing performance bonds and bank guarantees from the terminated firms, while reserving the right to pursue further legal action to recover additional costs.

Anutin, who is an engineer by training and a former executive in the construction industry, also said the government is finalising a contractor “scorecard” system to track safety and performance records. The new regulation is expected to come into force by early February.

(AP)