At Least 31 Dead, Dozens More Injured After Construction Crane Collapses onto Moving Passenger Train

A least 31 people have died and dozens have been injured after a construction crane collapsed onto a moving passenger train in Thailand.

The incident occurred on Wednesday, Jan. 14 in Ban Thanon Khot in Nakhon Ratchasima province, north of Bangkok, after the train left Nong Nam Khun station, the BBC stated. It had set off from Bangkok and had been heading to Ubon Ratchathani province.

Thatchapon Chinnawong, a police superintendent in Nakhon Ratchasima, told the outlet that the incident happened at around 9 a.m. local time as construction work on an express trail line was ongoing.

“The construction crane collapsed onto a running train leaving from Bangkok,” the officer said, per the BBC. The outlet noted that the crane had been working on a rail project linking Thailand and China.

Thailand’s Ministry of Public Health (MOPH) said in a translated Facebook post that at least 31 people had died in the incident, and 64 had been injured, seven of whom are severely injured. 30 people died at the scene, and one died during transfer.

There were 195 people on board at the time of the incident, per a translated post on the Public Relations Team of the State Railway of Thailand’s Facebook page.

The train had been carrying mostly students and workers traveling to school and work in other districts when the incident unfolded, BBC Thai stated. 

All individuals have since been evacuated from the scene, the BBC reported, citing the health ministry. The outlet noted that among the seriously injured was a 1-year-old and an 85-year-old, citing a spokesperson for the Ministry of Public Health.

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Local resident, Mitr Intrpanya, 54, who had been at the scene of the accident, said, “At around 9 a.m., I heard a loud noise, like something sliding down from above, followed by two explosions,” per the Agence France-Presse (AFP).

“When I went to see what had happened, I found the crane sitting on a passenger train with three carriages,” the resident added, according to the outlet. “The metal from the crane appeared to strike the middle of the second carriage, slicing it in half.”

Thailand’s transport minister, Phiphat Ratchakitprakarn, has “expressed his deepest condolences to the bereaved families and those who got injured by this incident and expressed his concern for all the passengers and the citizens who were affected,” per the post on the Public Relations Team of the State Railway of Thailand’s Facebook page.

Thirasak Wongsoongnern, a member of staff on the train, told local media outlet Thairath Online, that the train had been traveling at around 74mph when the tragedy occurred, according to the BBC. He said that he and other passengers were thrown into the air after the crane collapsed.

Thai authorities are now investigating the incident, which follows a series of other fatal accidents which have been blamed on safty lapses, the BBC reported.

A spokesperson for the State Railway of Thailand and the Ministry of Public Health didn’t immediately respond when contacted by PEOPLE for additional information.