The scene after a construction crane fell into a passenger train in Nakhon Ratchasima province, Thailand, January 14, 2026. AP
A crane at a China-backed high-speed rail project in Thailand collapsed onto a passenger train on Wednesday, January 14, and caused it to derail, killing at least 28 people and injuring dozens more, authorities said.
The massive crane's broken structure was left resting on giant concrete pillars, while smoke rose from the wreckage of the train below, footage from the scene verified by Agence France-Presse (AFP) showed.
Rescuers worked to extract passengers from the tilted carriages in Nakhon Ratchasima province, northeast of the capital Bangkok. The health ministry said in a statement that 28 were killed and 64 people were hospitalised, seven in serious condition.
The accident happened at a construction site that is part of a more than $5 billion project backed by Beijing to build a high-speed rail network in Thailand. It aims to connect Bangkok to Kunming in China via Laos by 2028 as part of China's vast "Belt and Road" infrastructure initiative.
