By SABRINA PENTY, FOREIGN NEWS REPORTER Published: 17:03 BST, 16 May 2026 | Updated: 17:16 BST, 16 May 2026
At least eight people have been killed, and 35 more are injured after a freight train collided with a bus at full speed in Bangkok on Saturday.Firefighters and rescue workers cordoned off the collision site, with investigators seen peering into the burnt-out shell of the bus.Pedestrians were ushered away from the busy downtown intersection, which is used by tens of thousands of vehicles each day.'Eight people have died, and 35 others were injured,' Bangkok police chief Urumporn Koondejsumrit told AFP, adding that two of the injured were in serious condition.The collision happened early in the afternoon, with images and videos on social media showing the train approaching a level crossing at a moderate speed before colliding with the bus.The impact also dragged several nearby vehicles along the tracks before the bus was engulfed in flames. Several motorcycles and their riders were also seen being thrown onto the road after the collision. At least eight people have been killed and dozens more are injured after a freight train collided with a bus at full speed in Bangkok Footage showed the train approaching a level crossing at a moderate speed before colliding with the bus A view of a train and a bus after their collision with several cars on Asok-Din Daeng Road, causing several casualties, in Bangkok, Thailand, May 16, 2026'The fire is now out, and we are trying to recover the bodies,' Urumporn said.The flames appeared to spread quickly.Later videos showed a group of rescuers entering the charred bus after the flames were brought under control. 'I didn't dare look back to see if there were any victims,' a witness who was near the intersection with her daughter told public broadcaster Thai PBS.Another unidentified witness told Royal Thai Police TV that their car had been at the railway crossing.'I'm still in shock. Suddenly, I heard a loud noise and something hit my car, pushing it away. Then I saw the bus stuck to the train and flames everywhere. I was terrified,' they said.Deputy Transport Minister Siripong Angkasakulkiat told reporters at the crash site that all the bodies were found on the bus. He said it was still unclear how many people were on board. The impact also dragged several nearby vehicles along the tracks Emergency services work at a site where a train collided with a bus and several cars on Asok-Din Daeng Road, causing several casualties, in Bangkok, Thailand, May 16, 2026 Emergency services work the scene of a collision on May 16, 2026 in Bangkok, Thailand Rescue teams retrieve bodies from the wreckage following a collision on May 16, 2026 in BangkokWhen asked about reports that the bus had stopped on the railway tracks and that the barriers, used to keep motorists away from the tracks when the trains are passing, may not have lowered properly, Siripong said the matter still needs to be investigated. Thai Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul has ordered an investigation into the incident, according to a statement from his office.Deadly transport accidents are common in Thailand, which regularly tops lists of the world's most lethal roads, with speeding, drunk driving and weak law enforcement all contributing factors.The collapse of a crane onto a passenger train killed 32 people and injured dozens in Thailand's northeast in January.A collision between a freight train and a bus carrying passengers to a religious ceremony killed 18 people in 2020.Three years later, eight people were killed in a collision between a freight train and a pickup truck crossing a railway line in the east of the country.
