At least 22 people have been killed and dozens injured in Thailand after a crane collapsed onto a passenger train, derailing it, officials said on Wednesday.
The incident occurred in Nakhon Ratchasima province in north-east Thailand, north of the capital, Bangkok.
Video footage verified by Agence France-Presse showed the broken crane resting on large concrete pillars, with smoke rising from the derailed train.
Rescue teams worked to free passengers trapped inside tilted carriages at the scene.
A resident, Mitr Intrpanya, 54, said he heard a loud noise followed by two explosions shortly before discovering the crane on top of the train.
He said the metal structure appeared to strike the middle of the second carriage, cutting it in half.
The district police chief, Thatchapon Chinnawong, said 22 deaths had been confirmed and around 80 people were injured.
He added that hospitals were assessing how many of the injured were in critical condition.
Authorities said the accident happened at a construction site linked to a $5.4bn high-speed rail project backed by China.
The project forms part of Beijing’s Belt and Road initiative and is intended to connect Bangkok to Kunming in China via Laos by 2028.
In a statement, the Nakhon Ratchasima provincial public relations department said a crane had collapsed onto the train, causing it to derail and catch fire.
Live footage broadcast by local media showed emergency workers at the scene, with a brightly coloured train lying on its side as smoke rose from the wreckage.
Rescue operations were temporarily suspended due to concerns over chemical leakage, according to police.
Officials said the train was travelling from Bangkok to Ubon Ratchathani province.
Transport minister Phiphat Ratchakitprakarn said there were 195 people on board at the time of the crash.
He said authorities were working to identify the dead and had ordered an investigation into the cause of the accident.
Thailand has about 5,000km of railway, but years of underinvestment have left much of the network in poor condition, encouraging many people to travel by road instead.
When completed, the 600km high-speed rail line will use Chinese-built trains capable of travelling at speeds of up to 250km/h between Bangkok and Nong Khai, on the border with Laos.
Industrial and construction accidents are common in Thailand, where weak enforcement of safety regulations has often been blamed for fatal incidents.
