At least 30 people were killed and 80 injured after a crane collapsed onto a passenger train in Thailand on Wednesday, police said, according to news agency AP.The accident occurred in Sikhio district, Nakhon Ratchasima province, about 230 km (143 miles) northeast of Bangkok, on a passenger train travelling from Bangkok to Ubon Ratchathani province.Live footage broadcast by local media showed rescue workers at the site, with a brightly coloured train lying on its side and smoke rising from the wreckage. Police said the fire has been extinguished, but the authorities were pausing the rescue operation due to “chemical leakage” at the scene.Meanwhile, the province’s public relations department said on Facebook that four bodies have been recovered so far.Transport minister Phiphat Ratchakitprakarn said 195 passengers were on board, and authorities are working to identify the deceased. According to Thai media, the train had three carriages, with the last two sustaining the most damage.Local resident Mitr Intrpanya, 54, who was at the scene, told AFP: “At around 9 am, I heard a loud noise, like something sliding down from above, followed by two explosions. When I went to see what had happened, I found the crane sitting on a passenger train with three carriages. The metal from the crane appeared to strike the middle of the second carriage, slicing it in half.” The crane was part of a $5.4-billion high-speed rail project in Thailand, supported by China. The network is planned to connect Bangkok to Kunming in China via Laos by 2028, as part of China’s broader Belt and Road Initiative.
