AdvertisementSKIP ADVERTISEMENTYou have a preview view of this article while we are checking your access. When we have confirmed access, the full article content will load.A freight train plowed into traffic on train tracks, starting a fire. The authorities did not immediately give a cause but said a barrier had not come down.Listen · 3:43 min Emergency services at the site of the collision in Bangkok on Saturday.Credit...Lillian Suwanrumpha/Agence France-Presse — Getty ImagesBy Kittiphum SringammuangIsabella Kwai and Phuriphat DejsuphongKittiphum Sringammuang and Phuriphat Dejsuphone reported from Bangkok.May 16, 2026Updated 12:45 p.m. ETA freight train plowed into heavy traffic that was crossing train tracks in Bangkok on Saturday, killing at least eight people and injuring dozens of others, according to Thai officials.The train hit a bus just before 4 p.m. local time, setting off a crash with cars and motorcycles and sparking a fire that engulfed some of the vehicles. All eight of those who died were on the bus, according to the authorities, who said that 32 other people were injured.It was not immediately clear what caused the crash, which took place on one of the busiest roads in the Thai capital, near a train station linking the city to an international airport. The traffic, which is typically heavy even on weekends, crosses the train tracks.The train conductor and the bus driver were in police custody pending an investigation, said Police General Kitrat Phanphet of the Royal Thai Police. Emergency personnel at the scene had previously said that the bus driver had died in the crash.“I heard the alarm on the incoming train, but usually the train that passes this road waits until the traffic is cleared,” Artit, a survivor of the crash who fled his car when the fire broke out, told local media, which gave only his first name. “It took about 10 minutes for my car to completely burn down.”The train’s driver was injured and was in a hospital, rescuers on the scene told local media. Transport officials said that they would conduct an investigation into the cause and recover the train’s data recorder to see how fast it was moving.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe.AdvertisementSKIP ADVERTISEMENT