The death toll remains at 22, while 64 people are injured. Eight of those injuries are severe.
Most of the passengers on the train were students and workers travelling from Pak Chong railway station to other districts, BBC Thai reported.
A spokesperson for the Ministry of Public Health said that among the severely injured were a one-year-old and an 85-year-old.
Many of the seriously injured suffered wounds on their head, face, chest and leg fractures.
Crane dropped concrete segment on train – local media
Local news outlet The Nation is reporting that the incident happened around 09:30 local time (02:30 GMT), when the crane was lifting a large concrete segment.
The crane then dropped the load on the train, causing four coaches to derail. The Nation reported that the first two coaches sustained the most damage as they were struck by the concrete segment, while the third and fourth coach were damaged and detached from the train.
UK ambassador to Thailand ‘deeply saddened’ by incident
Mark Gooding, the British Ambassador to Thailand, says he is “deeply saddened by the tragic incident”.
“My thoughts are with all those affected. The UK stands with Thailand at this difficult time,” he wrote in a post on X.
Gooding became the ambassador to Thailand in 2021. He was previously the ambassador to Cambodia.
Someone must be punished for the incident – Thai PM
Thai PM Anutin Charnvirakul has called for “someone [to] be punished and held accountable” for the incident.
While the cause of the accident remains unclear, Anutin said he believed it could be due to a few factors, likely related to negligence, according to BBC Thai.
He pointed out that the project had experienced “several incidents before”, citing a tunnel collapse about a year ago.
“Accidents like this can only happen due to negligence, skipped steps, deviations from the design, or the use of incorrect materials,” he said.
Anutin added that officials would “need to investigate whether there were any construction errors or deviations from proper procedures”.
More than a dozen train services disrupted by crash
The State Railway of Thailand has made changes to more than a dozen train services after the crane collapse.
Two train services have been cancelled, while 12 train services will have their routes changed.
Passengers who have purchased tickets for the affected routes are entitled to a full refund, the state-owned railway operator said in a statement.
In photos: Rescuers working at scene of crash
Here are some photos of the rescue operation today, posted by Thailand’s Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation:
Beijing says it ‘attaches great importance to safety of projects and personnel’
The Chinese government said it is verifying relevant information about the accident, which occurred during the construction of a railway project linking Thailand and China.
At a daily press briefing on Wednesday, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said the Chinese government attaches great importance to the safety of projects and personnel, adding that according to its current understanding, the section involved was being constructed by a Thai company.
Company working on high-speed rail was same one behind collapsed building
The incident took place on a US$5.4bn (£4bn) high-speed rail project that would connect Bangkok to Kunming in China.
Known officially as the Bangkok-Nong Khai HSR Development for Regional Connectivity, its website, external lists an Italian-Thai Development Company as the firm in charge of the Lam Takhong-Sikhio section where the incident took place.
The company is one of Thailand’s biggest contractors and is the same firm that was behind the Bangkok building which collapsed last March during an earthquake. Last year the company’s president and several designers and engineers were charged with professional negligence over that incident.
We have contacted representatives from the Italian-Thai Development Company asking for a response.
Where did the crash happen
The accident occured around 09:00 (02:00 GMT) this morning, in Ban Thanon Khot in Nakhon Ratchasima province, north of the capital Bangkok.
Nakhon Ratchasima is one of Thailand’s largest provinces by size, with a population of about 2.6 million. It is north-eastern Thailand’s main transportation hub and economic centre.
Train staff says he was ‘thrown into the air’
Thirasak Wongsoongnern, a member of staff on the train, told local media outlet Thairath Online that the train had three carriages. He said the first carriage was not damaged, while the other two – where most of the deaths and injuries occurred – were hit.
He added that the train was travelling at about 120km/h (74mph) when the accident occured. When the crane fell, he and the other passengers were thrown into the air.
Thirasak said he rushed to help passengers afterwards but was unable to reach the second carriage because it was on fire.
