8 people have been killed and 32 injured after a freight train collided with a public bus near the Airport Rail Link’s Makkasan Station on Saturday afternoon (16 May).

The accident occurred at around 15.40 on Asok-Din Daeng Road, one of the busiest roads in central Bangkok. The collision caused the bus to burst into flames. Several nearby vehicles were also hit during the accident. 

Deputy Transport Minister Siripong Angkasakulkiat told reporters that preliminary reports suggested that crossing barriers did not close because the bus was parked on the train track during heavy traffic, and that the freight train could not brake in time due to the weight of the shipping containers it was carrying.

The Reporters reported at around 19.30 on Saturday (16 May), that according to Siripong, 8 people were killed in the accident, while 32 were injured, two seriously.

Anan Phonimdaeng, Acting Governor of the State Railway of Thailand (SRT), said that the accident took place at a railroad crossing and that SRT staff could not close the crossing barrier because the bus was parked on the track and the incoming train could not stop in time. He said that the SRT will move the train after the police’s forensic team has collected evidence. It will also conduct an investigation into the cause of the accident.

Kittikan Chomdoung Charuworapolkul, Director of the BMTA, said that the families of those killed in the accident will receive up to 1.5 million baht from the insurance policy on BMTA buses. The injured will receive at least 80,000 baht in compensation