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Thailand’s railway agency said Friday that eight people lost their lives leaving four others injured as a freight train rammed into a pick-up truck that was trying to cross the tracks in Chachoengsao province, east of Bangkok, despite the driver’s attempts to stop the train.
“The crash took place around 2:20am (1920 GMT Thursday) at an unauthorised crossing,” the State Railway of Thailand said in a statement.
“The train driver had sounded his warning horn as he approached the crossing but was unable to stop before hitting the truck, which was transporting fish,” the statement said.
“The train driver followed the protocol by sounding the alarm three times, but the close proximity made it difficult for the driver to stop the train in time,” the statement stated.
Eight people — five men and three women — died in the collision. Four more were injured, one of whom is in hospital in critical condition.
A 20-year-old survivor who leapt out of the pick-up just before the crash explained that they thought the vehicle could make it over the crossing, but then saw the train only a few metres away.
Deadly accidents are common in Thailand, which regularly tops lists of the world’s most lethal roads, with speeding, drunk driving and weak law enforcement all contributing factors.
In October 2020, 18 people were killed when a freight train crashed into a bus taking passengers to a religious ceremony.
Earlier, Thailand also suffered from a powerful explosion that levelled an unlicensed fireworks warehouse in the southern part of the country killing least 10, the local governor said.
The blast Saturday afternoon in the town of Sungai Kolok was believed to have been caused by welding during construction work on the building.
More than 100 people were injured in the blast, which left only twisted metal beams still standing as rescue workers picked over the debris, with local media reporting hundreds of homes were also seriously damaged.
Provincial commander Police Major General Chalermporn Khamkhiew said firecrackers had been delivered shortly before the explosion.
“We are investigating if those firecrackers were transported legally or illegally,” he said.
“As of now, we do not see any licence for possession of firecrackers or firecracker sales,” he said.
“We assume the factory has no licence.”
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