BANGKOK, Thailand — A construction crane collapsed onto an elevated road near Bangkok on Thursday, killing two people and trapping vehicles in the wreckage, just one day after another crane fell onto a moving passenger train in northeastern Thailand, claiming 32 lives.
The twin accidents prompted Thai Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul to announce late Thursday that he would terminate the contracts of the contractors involved in both incidents. The government also vowed to blacklist the companies and pursue full legal action.
The highway accident occurred on an extension of the Rama 2 Road expressway, a major artery from Bangkok notorious for construction-related accidents, some of which have been fatal. The crane fell in Samut Sakhon province Thursday morning, immediately killing two people, according to Transport Minister Phiphat Ratchakitprakarn.
Meanwhile, the search for survivors from Wednesday’s train derailment concluded. Officials said three passengers listed as missing were presumed to have exited the train before the accident. The high-speed train had 171 passengers aboard its three carriages, and nearly 70 people were injured. Among the dead were a South Korean man in his late 30s and a German national, the foreign ministries of both countries confirmed.
The railway project is part of Thailand’s high-speed rail line connecting China and Southeast Asia under Beijing’s Belt and Road Initiative. This line has previously been marred by accidents: in August 2024, a railway tunnel in Nakhon Ratchasima collapsed, killing three workers.
Italian-Thai Development (Italthai) is the lead contractor for both the highway and rail projects, while a Chinese firm handled design and construction supervision for the railway. Italthai issued statements expressing condolences and pledging full cooperation with recovery efforts and investigations.
The company has a history of construction accidents in Thailand. It was a co-lead contractor on the State Audit Building in Bangkok, which collapsed during a major earthquake in March last year, killing about 100 people. Following that disaster, 23 individuals and companies were indicted, including Italthai’s president and the local director of its Chinese joint-venture partner, China Railway No. 10, on charges of professional negligence causing death and document forgery.
The repeated involvement of Italthai and Chinese firms in accidents on major Thai infrastructure projects, including expressway extensions in and around Bangkok, has drawn increased scrutiny from both government authorities and the public.
Chinese Ambassador Zhang Jianwei expressed condolences to Prime Minister Anutin over the railway crane collapse and pledged full cooperation and transparency in the ongoing investigation, emphasizing the strategic importance of the project.
Prime Minister Anutin, an engineer by training and former executive of a major construction firm, said the government would seize performance bonds and bank guarantees from the terminated contractors and pursue new contractors to complete unfinished projects. He also announced that a contractor “scorecard” system to track performance records will be enforced by early February.
“These companies will face the full force of the law,” Anutin said, vowing accountability for the repeated accidents that have plagued Thailand’s major infrastructure projects.
Si Venus L Peñaflor ay naging editor-in-chief ng Newsworld, isang lokal na pahayagan ng Laguna. Publisher din siya ng Daystar Gazette at Tutubi News Magazine. Siya ay isa ring pintor at doll face designer ng Ninay Dolls, ang unang Manikang Pilipino. Kasali siya sa DesignCrowd sa rank na #305 sa 640,000 graphic designers sa buong daigdig. Kasama din siya sa unang Local TV Broadcast sa Laguna na Beyond Manila. Aktibong kasapi siya ng San Pablo Jaycees Senate bilang isang JCI Senator.
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