Tragic Crane Accident in Thailand Claims Two Lives Following Previous Incident

A crane collapsed onto a road near Thailand’s capital on Thursday, tragically crushing two vehicles and resulting in the deaths of two individuals. This incident occurred just a day after a similar accident in northeastern Thailand led to the derailment of a train, claiming the lives of 32 passengers.

Thailand’s transport minister revealed that the construction firm Italian-Thai Development (ITD), which was responsible for the crane that fell onto the train in Nakhon Ratchasima province, was also involved in the recent crane accident near Bangkok.

Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul, facing a general election next month, announced on Thursday that his government intends to cancel two contracts with ITD related to the projects involved in both accidents. He also pledged to take legal action against the firm.

“The Ministry of Transport has been instructed to terminate the contracts with the contractors, pursue all legal action available, and place them on a blacklist,” he stated during a press conference.

In response to the accidents, the government has ordered a halt to approximately a dozen active ITD construction projects involving the state, placing them under review, according to transport minister Phiphat Ratchakitprakarn.

Italian-Thai, established in 1958 by Italian and Thai partners, issued a statement shortly after the prime minister’s comments, accepting responsibility for providing care, compensation, and remedies for the losses incurred in both incidents.

“The company will review and strengthen its safety measures to ensure stricter and more comprehensive standards going forward,” the ITD statement read, addressing concerns raised by the public and authorities alike.

Series of Fatal Construction Accidents

The incident on Thursday occurred in Samut Sakhon province, where the crane, utilized for constructing an elevated highway, fell onto the road below, crushing two cars. Local police reported that two additional individuals sustained injuries in the accident.

This latest event is part of a troubling trend of fatal accidents at construction sites in Thailand, many of which have involved Italian-Thai. Notably, a partially-built tower in Bangkok collapsed last year during a 7.7-magnitude earthquake, resulting in at least 89 fatalities and leading to negligence charges against 23 individuals.

Images from the scene on Thursday depicted a mangled green crane alongside large pieces of concrete that had crushed the vehicles beneath. Video footage from news outlet Thai Rath showed cars reversing to avoid the wreckage amidst a cloud of dust from the collapsed concrete.

As Southeast Asia’s second-largest economy, Thailand has been undergoing extensive infrastructure development, including elevated highways, high-speed rail lines, and significant expansions of its elevated rail network in Bangkok.

High-Speed Rail

Authorities have confirmed that an investigation into Wednesday’s accident in the northeast is ongoing. In addition to the 32 fatalities, 66 of the 195 passengers on the train were injured when a crane involved in constructing an elevated high-speed rail project collapsed onto an existing train line.

The ambitious cross-country high-speed rail project aims to connect Thailand to China through Laos. The government announced last year that over a third of the construction for the segment linking Bangkok to Nakhon Ratchasima has been completed, with the entire line to Nong Khai, near the Laos border, expected to be operational by 2030.

(Reporting by Panarat Thepgumpanat; Additional reporting by Panu Wongcha-um and Orathai Sriring; writing by Martin Petty; editing by David Stanway and Toby Chopra)

Photograph: Rescuers lift the wreckage of the train after a construction crane fell onto a passenger train in Nakhon Ratchasima province, Thailand, Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit)

A crane collapsed onto a road near Thailand’s capital on Thursday, tragically crushing two vehicles and resulting in the deaths of two individuals. This incident occurred just a day after a similar accident in northeastern Thailand led to the derailment of a train, claiming the lives of 32 passengers.

Thailand’s transport minister revealed that the construction firm Italian-Thai Development (ITD), which was responsible for the crane that fell onto the train in Nakhon Ratchasima province, was also involved in the recent crane accident near Bangkok.

Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul, facing a general election next month, announced on Thursday that his government intends to cancel two contracts with ITD related to the projects involved in both accidents. He also pledged to take legal action against the firm.

“The Ministry of Transport has been instructed to terminate the contracts with the contractors, pursue all legal action available, and place them on a blacklist,” he stated during a press conference.

In response to the accidents, the government has ordered a halt to approximately a dozen active ITD construction projects involving the state, placing them under review, according to transport minister Phiphat Ratchakitprakarn.

Italian-Thai, established in 1958 by Italian and Thai partners, issued a statement shortly after the prime minister’s comments, accepting responsibility for providing care, compensation, and remedies for the losses incurred in both incidents.

“The company will review and strengthen its safety measures to ensure stricter and more comprehensive standards going forward,” the ITD statement read, addressing concerns raised by the public and authorities alike.

Series of Fatal Construction Accidents

The incident on Thursday occurred in Samut Sakhon province, where the crane, utilized for constructing an elevated highway, fell onto the road below, crushing two cars. Local police reported that two additional individuals sustained injuries in the accident.

This latest event is part of a troubling trend of fatal accidents at construction sites in Thailand, many of which have involved Italian-Thai. Notably, a partially-built tower in Bangkok collapsed last year during a 7.7-magnitude earthquake, resulting in at least 89 fatalities and leading to negligence charges against 23 individuals.

Images from the scene on Thursday depicted a mangled green crane alongside large pieces of concrete that had crushed the vehicles beneath. Video footage from news outlet Thai Rath showed cars reversing to avoid the wreckage amidst a cloud of dust from the collapsed concrete.

As Southeast Asia’s second-largest economy, Thailand has been undergoing extensive infrastructure development, including elevated highways, high-speed rail lines, and significant expansions of its elevated rail network in Bangkok.

High-Speed Rail

Authorities have confirmed that an investigation into Wednesday’s accident in the northeast is ongoing. In addition to the 32 fatalities, 66 of the 195 passengers on the train were injured when a crane involved in constructing an elevated high-speed rail project collapsed onto an existing train line.

The ambitious cross-country high-speed rail project aims to connect Thailand to China through Laos. The government announced last year that over a third of the construction for the segment linking Bangkok to Nakhon Ratchasima has been completed, with the entire line to Nong Khai, near the Laos border, expected to be operational by 2030.

(Reporting by Panarat Thepgumpanat; Additional reporting by Panu Wongcha-um and Orathai Sriring; writing by Martin Petty; editing by David Stanway and Toby Chopra)

Photograph: Rescuers lift the wreckage of the train after a construction crane fell onto a passenger train in Nakhon Ratchasima province, Thailand, Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit)