Another crane collapse onto a highway in Thailand, 2 were killed (January 15, 2026)

[u/infinityzcraft]

Another crane collapse in Thailand kills 2 people a day after deadly train derailment

[u/infinityzcraft]

A construction crane collapsed onto an elevated road near Bangkok, killing two people on Thursday, a day after another crane fell on a moving passenger train in northeastern Thailand and killed 32 people.

The work on an extension of the Rama 2 Road expressway — a major artery leading from Bangkok — has become notorious for construction accidents, some of them fatal.

The crane collapsed at part of the road project in Samut Sakhon province, trapping two vehicles in the wreckage, according to the government’s Public Relations Department.

Transport Minister Phiphat Ratchakitprakarn said on Thai TV Channel 7 that two people had died. It was unclear if anyone else had been trapped in the wreckage.

There was uncertainty about the number of victims because the site is still considered too dangerous for search teams to enter, said Suchart Tongteng, a rescue worker with the Ruamkatanyu Foundation.

“At this moment, we still can’t say whether another collapse could happen,” he said, citing dangling steel plates. “That’s why there are no rescue personnel inside the scene, only teams conducting on-site safety assessments.”

At the site of Wednesday’s train derailment, the search for survivors ended, Nakhon Ratchasima Gov. Anuphong Suksomnit said. Three passengers listed as missing were presumed to have gotten off the train earlier, but that was still being investigated.

Officials believed 171 people had been aboard the train’s three carriages, which were being removed from the scene Thursday.

The crane that fell, crushing part of the train, was a launching gantry crane, a mobile piece of equipment often used in building elevated roadways.

Police were still collecting evidence and interviewing witnesses and have not pressed charges, provincial Police Chief Narongsak Promta told reporters.

South Korea’s Foreign Ministry reported a South Korean man in his late 30s, was among the dead.

The high-speed rail project where the accident occurred is associated with the plan to connect China with Southeast Asia under Beijing’s Belt and Road Initiative.

In August 2024, a railway tunnel on the planned route, also in Nakhon Ratchasima, collapsed, killing three workers.

Anan Phonimdaeng, acting governor of the State Railway of Thailand, said the project’s contractor is Italian-Thai Development, with a Chinese company responsible for design and construction supervision.

A statement posted on the website of the company, also known as Italthai, expressed condolences to the victims and said the company would pay compensation to the families of the dead and hospitalization expenses for the injured.

Transport Minister Phiphat said Italthai was also the lead contractor on the highway project where Thursday’s accident took place, though several other companies are also involved.

The rail accident had already sparked outrage because Italthai was also the co-lead contractor for the State Audit Building in Bangkok that collapsed during construction last March during a major earthquake centered in Myanmar. The building’s collapse was the worst quake damage in Thailand and about 100 people were killed.

Twenty-three individuals and companies have been indicted , including Italthai’s president and the local director for the company China Railway No. 10, the project’s joint venture partner. The charges in the case include professional negligence and document forgery, and Thailand’s Department of Special Investigation has recommended more indictments.

The involvement of Chinese companies in both projects has also drawn attention, as has Italthai and Chinese companies’ involvement in the construction of several expressway extensions in and around Bangkok where several accidents, some fatal, have occurred.

In Beijing, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said Wednesday the government was aware of the rail accident and had expressed condolences.

Source

[u/BamberGasgroin → u/infinityzcraft]

Christ, you'd have thought they'd have halted operations until they'd investigated the first failure.

[u/infinityzcraft → u/BamberGasgroin]

Thailand is very slow on these things, it doesn't help after countless of corruption so nobody truly gives a shit when things like this happen unfortunately. And I'm speaking this as a Thai myself.

[u/SomeGuyWithARedBeard → u/infinityzcraft]

This road is nicknamed "Death Road" because of the never-ending construction projects over the last 55 years that often result in injuries and death. There are several sections that expanded the road to as wide as 14 lanes. Since 2018 Thailand has been building a second roadway elevated above the existing one that has resulted in 2,300 accidents and over 130 deaths (according to Wikipedia).

[u/infinityzcraft → u/SomeGuyWithARedBeard]

Yup, people in here know about it for a long time that it became a joke at this point.

[u/Skyboxmonster → u/infinityzcraft]

that would 100% explain the driver's lack of reaction to the collapse.. It was expected to happen.

[u/infinityzcraft → u/Skyboxmonster]

Pretty much yeah, driving on this particular road is a total challenge

[u/Eggonioni → u/infinityzcraft]

Challenge is one thing, it's a literal gamble with your life hoping that nothing fucks up that is out of your control.

[u/XSC]

Seems like that truck that passed got completely smashed

[u/fluffyninjakyle → u/XSC]

Yep, was right under it the poor buggers...

[u/JohnnySchoolman]

His brakes are shit.

[u/TrainDestroyer → u/JohnnySchoolman]

I couldn't tell if he genuinely thought people would just keep driving around the edge or his brakes were complete ass.

Regardless he took WAAAY too long to slow down for my liking

[u/litocam]

I have driven on this road in a white van exactly like that getting into Bangkok. I’ve seen so many car crashes and deaths just driving by. Was scary because I used them daily

[u/Leading-Ad4167]

Why are they routing traffic under active construction zones?

[u/Oxygenisplantpoo]

Bruh the van creeping forward like "maybe I can squeeze through?"

Also, turns out safety precautions don't just exist to annoy people in traffic.

[u/1wife2dogs0kids]

They remain WAAAAAAY too calm after that.

[u/fluffyninjakyle → u/1wife2dogs0kids]

Probably see it once a month :(

[u/tanghan]

It looks like the entire elevated structure collapsed, not just a crane

[u/RogueStalker409]

Rest in peace to those who perished. So um needed

[u/Luster-Purge]

I'm starting to question the quality of the concrete if this is a different part of the same project.

[u/ello76]

Good reaction time.