KHON KAEN, 31 October 2014 – Five people have died and more than 20 were injured in a deadly accident yesterday, where a 10 wheeler truck crashed into a train at a railroad crossing.
The train was four bogies long and was running from Nakhon Ratchasima to Nong Khai. The accident happened at the Sila Subdistrict in Khon Kaen province.
Authorities are now working to recover the ill-fated train, which was derailed as a result of the crash. One bogie of the train had been damaged beyond repair while the remaining three bogies will be taken for repair at the Khon Kaen train station.
As a relief measure, the State Railway of Thailand (SRT) will be giving 40,000 baht each to the families of the five victims who have died and pay for the medical costs for those who were injured.
Investigations reveal that the railroad crossing did not have a visual or an audible warning, nor did it have a railway barrier installed in place. The truck was reportedly heavy loaded with soil and could not accelerate passing the rail crossing.
Khon Kaen province is known to have 27 railroad crossings in total, but only 13 of them have railway barriers.
