A devastating collision between a cargo train and a public passenger bus left at least eight people dead and more than 20 others injured in the heart of Thailand’s capital Bangkok on Saturday, according to emergency response officials.
The accident unfolded in the late afternoon hours in close proximity to an airport rail link station, a high-traffic transportation hub in Bangkok’s central district, local Thai media outlets reported. Erawan Medical Center, the city’s lead emergency services coordination body, confirmed the casualty count in an official update shortly after the crash.
Graphic user-generated footage of the incident, widely circulated across social media platforms, captures the sequence of the collision. The video shows a queue of vehicles waiting at a level railway crossing when an incoming cargo train slammed into the front end of an orange public bus. The sheer force of the impact dragged multiple adjacent stopped vehicles along the railway tracks before the bus was completely engulfed in large flames. Several motorcyclists waiting at the crossing were thrown from their bikes onto the adjacent roadway by the collision’s force, according to the footage.
Subsequent videos posted to social media show a team of emergency rescue personnel entering the burned-out husk of the bus after firefighters brought the blaze under control, as first responders worked to clear the scene and account for all casualties.