A passenger train in northeastern Thailand was crushed by a collapsing crane from a nearby high-speed railway construction site on January 14, 2026, leaving 31 people dead and three still missing, Asia News Network reported.

According to officials, the train was carrying 171 passengers and five railway staff, bringing the total number of people on board to 176 at the time of the incident. Several carriages were crushed under the weight of the crane, triggering a fire that left many victims burned beyond recognition.

The crane was part of ongoing construction on the Thai-Chinese high-speed railway, specifically along the section between Nong Nam Khun and Si Khiew stations, which forms part of the project’s third and fourth phases. The construction, overseen by Italian-Thai Development (ITD), had reached 99.54 percent completion as of December 2025, ANN cited official project data as saying.

Emergency services rushed to the scene, deploying heavy lifting equipment to remove the wreckage and recover victims trapped inside the train. By 4:30pm, provincial governor Anupong Suksomnit confirmed that 29 bodies had been recovered, while search operations continued for five missing individuals. Later in the afternoon, rescue teams located two more bodies, raising the confirmed death toll to 31.

Authorities said identification of some victims has been delayed due to the severe condition of the remains, with forensic teams working to confirm identities through DNA analysis.

Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul was scheduled to visit the crash site at 5:00pm to oversee rescue operations and offer condolences to the families of those killed, according to Asia News Network.

Eyewitness accounts underscore the scale of the tragedy. A local resident, identified as “Uncle Tor,” told reporters that he heard a deafening crash followed by flames and thick smoke. He rushed to the scene and managed to rescue a child trapped inside a carriage after hearing the mother’s cries for help. Both the child and the mother survived, though three other passengers in the same carriage died in the ensuing fire.

As of 4:45pm, authorities said three people were still unaccounted for, and search and recovery efforts were continuing amid concerns over safety and structural stability at the site.

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