8 killed when train derails in heavy rains in central Thailand

Thai train derails, killing 8 people

BANGKOK — A train derailed during heavy rains Monday near the coastal Thai city of Hua Hin, killing at least eight people, including a two-year-old girl and injuring 88 others, officials said.

The train jumped the tracks before dawn near the popular resort on the Gulf of Thailand during a trip from the southern city of Trang to the capital, Bangkok, said Police Lt. Col. Udom Chainoom.

Eight people were killed and 88 injured, said Chatree Charoencheewakun, director of the Emergency Medical Institute of Thailand. Of those injured, 22 were hospitalized. All of those killed were Thais, said Police Lt. Col. Udom Chainoom.

Chatree said one foreigner, suffering broken ribs and other injuries, was undergoing an operation. His nationality was not immediately known.

About a half-dozen of the train’s 16 cars derailed in the accident. At least one victim was crushed between train carriages, said Yuthana Thapcharoen, head of the State Railways of Thailand.

He declined to comment on media speculation that the accident was caused by a malfunctioning railway switch.

“We regret the loss of life and we are investigating the cause of the incident,” he said.

Udom said it was raining heavily at the time of the derailment but could not confirm that weather conditions played a role in the accident.

A truck-mounted crane was sent to the accident site to help remove the wreckage. Udom said some of bodies could not immediately be pulled from the twisted train cars.

“Rescue workers, including policemen and soldiers, were sent to the area to help remove the wreckage,” Udom said. “Those killed suffered from the impact, while some of them were crushed.”

It might take more than a day to clear the wreckage and restart the important rail link between southern Thailand and the capital, Yuthana said.

The accident came less than 24 hours after another train, carrying cement powder, derailed north of Bangkok. There were no reported casualties in the Sunday accident.

Last Thursday, a passenger train in western Kanchanabhuri province derailed following heavy rain. Yuthana said the earth underneath the track was heavily soaked with water which may have caused the accident.