Residents in Thailand's Ban Thanon Khot are accustomed to the rumbling of trains – rail is a key mode of transportation connecting the remote town with major cities.
But on Wednesday, the mundane rhythm ended in tragedy.
The noise was abnormally loud. A huge, crashing sound, said school volunteer Pitchaya Promenade. I saw a blue crane sliding. It seemed stuck for a moment, and suddenly it flipped over.
The construction crane had collapsed onto a moving train, killing at least 32 people and injuring 66 others. Most were students and workers traveling for school and work.
The BBC arrived at a grim scene in the evening, with rescuers still pulling bodies out of the mangled train. Parts of it were completely crushed.
If I had to describe the damage visually, it looked like a spoon scooping into a slice of cake, said Pitchaya, who is trained in basic first aid and was able to attend to some of those who were wounded.
One train carriage caught fire during the incident, complicating rescue efforts as emergency responders used cranes and hydraulic tools to free passengers trapped in the wreckage.
People were screaming 'Help! Help!' and smoke was starting to rise, said restaurant owner Penporn Pumjantuek. Oil from the train was spilling everywhere.
A one-year-old and an 85-year-old were among those injured, with several individuals in critical condition. The crane involved in the accident was being used for an overhead railway construction project that is part of a substantial China-backed initiative.
The incident raises significant safety concerns, with Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul calling for a thorough investigation. Furthermore, the State Railway of Thailand has announced it will pursue legal action against the Italian-Thai Development Company, responsible for the project's management.
Experts believe that human error, rather than natural factors, contributed to the accident, signaling a pattern of alarming construction mishaps in Thailand due to insufficient enforcement of safety regulations.
