A single, dull sound marked the beginning of one of Thailand’s deadliest rail disasters.
A construction crane for the high speed rail project collapsed onto a passenger train near Sikhio district in Nakhon Ratchasima province, killing more than 30 people. Metal debris, fire and smoke replaced what had been an ordinary journey home and left families facing sudden loss.
Among the survivors is Teaw Eimer Tenbrink, 63, who was injured in the crash and later travelled to Sikhio Hospital to claim the body of her German husband, who was killed in the incident.
She said the couple had boarded Train No. 3 to return to their home in Surin, a journey they made regularly and believed to be safe.
“Everything happened very fast,” she said. “I heard a loud sound and then I saw metal come through the roof and hit my husband. I tried to help him.”
“But someone shouted that we had to get out because fuel was leaking. I climbed out through the window and asked people to help my husband, but it was too late.”
After learning of his death, she contacted the embassy and called her daughter in Germany, who is now travelling to Thailand to collect her father’s body.
She said she remains in shock and has difficulty sleeping since the accident.
The couple had been married for 40 years. Her husband enjoyed spending time in Thailand and visited regularly. They had planned a trip to Koh Samui but decided to return home first.
At the crash site, another mother arrived to light incense for her 40 year old son, who was killed in the disaster.
She said her son was an engineer who preferred travelling by train because he believed it was safer than other forms of transport.
“He was coming home,” she said. “He never arrived.”
She called for those responsible to be held accountable, saying her son had been supporting the family and had planned to continue working for several more years.
Seventy one year old Boonyuen Jathong came to collect the body of his daughter, Aricha, 40, who was travelling from Bangkok to Sisaket for a funeral.
She had stayed in contact during the journey, sending photos and making phone calls until communication suddenly stopped.
“When I heard there was a crane collapse on the train, I thought it might be her,” he said.
Boonyuen, who has worked as a village undertaker for more than 60 years, said he never imagined he would one day collect the body of his own child.
Local resident Somjai, 55, was among the first to enter the damaged carriage to help.
He broke a window and climbed inside carriage three, where he saw injured passengers and several bodies. He helped free a young boy who was trapped and then returned to help the boy’s mother before the fire spread further.
Another witness, Bee, who runs a food stall nearby, said she heard a loud crash and saw smoke coming from the train.
“People were climbing out to escape. There were children, elderly people and foreigners,” she said. “We tried to help as many as we could, but the fire became too strong.”
Authorities are continuing to investigate the cause of the collapse and the safety conditions at the construction site.
What remains are damaged carriages, an ongoing investigation and families whose lives have been permanently changed by the accident.