2 killed in another crane collapse in Thailand

International

TRAGEDY struck Thailand’s construction sector in just a span of two days.

After a construction crane crashed on a train that killed 32 people on Wednesday, a crane also collapsed on Thursday, killing two people.

The latest collapse occurred in Samut Sakhon, a suburb of Bangkok, where a crane being used for an expressway project toppled onto the road.

Footage from the scene showed the crane crushing vehicles and sending a cloud of dust and debris into the air.

Wednesday’s accident in the northeastern province of Nakhon Ratchasima had seen a crane fall onto a moving train, injuring more than 60 people.

Both incidents involved Italian-Thai Development, one of Thailand’s largest construction companies, a report by BBC said.

In a statement to Thailand’s stock exchange Thursday afternoon, Italian-Thai Development expressed its “deepest condolences” to those injured and the families of the deceased. The company said it accepts full responsibility and has begun assessing damages.

“The company will review and improve safety measures to be more thorough and stringent, moving forward,” the statement added, as quoted by the BBC.

These back-to-back accidents reflect the ongoing safety challenges in Thailand’s construction sector. In the past seven years, about 150 people have died in accidents on a road improvement project between Bangkok and southern provinces.

Thursday’s expressway, where the crane collapsed, has earned the grim nickname “Death Road” due to several accidents there in recent years, AFP reported.

Following Wednesday’s Nakhon Ratchasima disaster, Thai

Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul vowed to tackle “negligence” in construction. He said he had instructed the transport ministry to revoke contracts, blacklist Italian-Thai Development, and pursue legal action against the company.

“This is shocking for the public and causing massive risks to assets and the safety of the people,” Anutin said in the same report.

The State Railway of Thailand has also confirmed it is suing Italian-Thai Development. The company had previously expressed regret over the train accident and pledged compensation to the families of those killed and injured.

Italian-Thai Development was also responsible for a Bangkok skyscraper that collapsed during an earthquake last March, the only building in the city to fall.(MyTVCebu)