At least 22 people have been killed after a train travelling from Thailand's capital was derailed when a construction crane fell on top of one of its carriages, police said.
Another 79 were injured in the incident on Wednesday morning in the Sikhio district of Nakhon Ratchasima province, about 230km north-east of Bangkok, the BBC reported.
The crane was working on a high-speed rail project when it collapsed, hitting a train heading for Ubon Ratchathani province, Reuters reported. The train derailed and caught fire.
Rescue work was under way after the fire was put out.
Just under 200 people were on the train, based on its seating plan, the State Railway of Thailand said.
Thailand’s Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Transport, Phiphat Ratchakitprakarn, ordered a “thorough and comprehensive investigation” into the cause.
Those killed were in two of the three carriages hit by the crane, he said.
Local police told Reuters there were more bodies in the wreckage that had yet to be retrieved.
“Nineteen bodies have been recovered, but there are still some inside the train carriages that cannot be removed yet because the crane started shifting, so the team pulled back for fear of danger,” Col Thatchapon Chinnawong said.
Images shared by the ministry showed carriages overturned and firefighters extinguishing a blaze as smoke billowed out.
The elevated high-speed rail line, one of several under construction in Thailand, was being built above the existing track.
