At least 50 people were injured after two trains leaving Bangkok collided in Ayutthaya last night.
Train No. 107 to Phrae rear-ended train No. 69 running to Nong Khai, causing three carriages of the latter to derail around 10pm.
Sompol Chanbanshe, engineer of the rear train responsible for the collision, was seriously injured and lost his leg. Among the injured, seven required operations, according to Manager.
According to the investigation, the Nong Khai-bound train did not heed signals and ran ahead despite not having a green signal, whereupon it rear ended the first train which had stopped due to a braking problem.
The crash was blamed on Sompol’s recklessness, state railway Governor Wuthichart Kalayanamit said.
Among the injured was a 52-year-old American identified as John Charles Holsopple and 27-year-old Lee Sangmin of Singapore, Thai PBS reported.
While much is made of the dangers of Thai roads, it’s railways aren’t exactly safe. Last night’s accident was the third serious incident in only 24 hours one day after the State Railway of Thailand marked its 118th anniversary. Earlier yesterday a train struck a pickup truck in Trang, killing the driver, while seven migrant laborers from Myanmar were killed when their truck was crushed by a passenger train in Chiang Mai.
Photo: FM91 Traffic Pro
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