Thai Engineers cite 4 causes of crane accidents on rail project

The Thai Structural Engineers Association has outlined four potential causes of the crane accident that occurred on the Thai-Chinese high-speed rail project in Sikhiu. The incident, where a launching crane support weighing 20-30 tons fell onto a passing train, resulted in several deaths and injuries.

Professor Dr Amorn Pimanmas, the President of the Association, explained that the launching crane truss is a movable steel framework used in constructing the high-speed rail structure, built progressively section by section. However, the component that fell onto the train was the support base, placed underneath the steel truss. This support base weighed 20-30 tons per unit.

The cause of the support base's collapse has not been definitively determined at this time. However, there are four preliminary hypotheses regarding the potential causes of the incident:

1. The incident could have occurred after some bridge construction was completed, as the crane was being moved forward or while shifting the base to the next support pillar.
2. The crane support base fell onto a moving train, causing it to derail and resulting in fatalities and injuries.
3. The impact caused the steel crane truss to break and lean against the bridge structure.
4. The stability of the crane support base’s attachment to the completed bridge’s crossbeam is under scrutiny, with questions about whether it was securely fastened and if there were any installation issues.

Similar accidents have occurred previously, including a launching crane collapse during the Laad Krabang-On Nut elevated bridge construction in July 2023 and another incident on the Rama 2 elevated project in November 2024, both causing fatalities and injuries.

These recurring incidents highlight serious safety issues in large-scale construction projects in public spaces.