At least 22 dead as crane collapses onto moving train in Thailand

The number of dead is expected to rise

The train, carrying 195 passengers, derailed when a crane fell onto the moving train, which was en route from Bangkok to Ubon Ratchathani province this morning.

Footage shows the crane’s shattered structure lying across massive concrete pillars atop the wreckage of the overturned train.

Local police said that more bodies have yet to be recovered, per Sky News.

A 54-year-old man, who was at the scene, described one of the carriages being torn in half by the impact.

He said: "At around 9 am, I heard a loud noise, like something sliding down from above, followed by two explosions.

"When I went to see what had happened, I found the crane sitting on a passenger train with three carriages.

"The metal from the crane appeared to strike the middle of the second carriage, slicing it in half," per Metro.

The incident occurred at a construction site, which is part of a $ 5.4 billion project backed by Beijing to build a high-speed rail network in Thailand.

It aims to connect Bangkok to Kunming in China through Laos by 2028 as part of China’s vast ‘Belt and Road’ infrastructure initiative.

The district police chief, Thatchapon Chinnawong, said 22 people have been confirmed dead and 80 more were injured.

"We are now asking the hospital to say how many people are in critical condition," Thatchapon said.

Thailand has over 3,000 miles of railway, but the run-down state of the network drives people to favour travel by road.

Industrial and construction site accidents have been a persistent issue in Thailand, where lax enforcement of safety regulations often results in deadly incidents.