A train derailed in northeastern Thailand on Monday after a construction crane fell on three of its carriages, killing at least 30 people and injuring about 80, police said, Reuters reported.
The accident occurred this morning in Sikiyo district in Nakhon Ratchasima province, 230 kilometers northeast of Bangkok, on a train traveling from the capital to Ubon Ratchathani province.
"The death toll has now reached 25. The search for more bodies is ongoing," police Colonel Thachapon Chinnawong told Reuters by telephone.
Transport Minister Phipat Rachakitprakarn said there were 195 people on the train and added that he had ordered a thorough investigation.
As he stated, the dead were in two of the three wagons on which the crane fell.
The crane was working on a high-speed rail project when it collapsed and hit a passing train, causing the train to derail and briefly catch fire.
Photos shared by the ministry show overturned wagons next to bushes and firefighters putting out the fire as smoke billows.
Footage from the scene, verified by Reuters, shows rescuers trying to pull victims from one of the crushed carriages, while some seriously injured passengers are placed in ambulances.
The high-speed rail project, one of several under construction in Thailand, was erected over an existing railway line. Part of the collapsed crane is still supported by pillars built to support the new rail link.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning told a media briefing that the Chinese government attaches great importance to the safety of projects and personnel and is investigating the situation.
"For now, it appears that the work on the relevant section was carried out by a Thai company. The cause of the accident is still under investigation," Ning said.
The high-speed rail project will connect to China via Laos. The government said last year that more than a third of the work was complete on the section connecting Bangkok and Nakhon Ratchasima, and that the entire line to Nong Khai, on the Laos border, should be ready by 2030.
According to an earlier report carried by the Beta news agency, officials said at least 22 people were killed when a construction crane fell on a passenger train in northeastern Thailand.
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