BANGKOK — At least 32 people have been killed and dozens of others injured when a construction crane crashed on a passenger train in northeast Thailand.

The accident took place on Wednesday in the Sikhio district of Nakhon Ratchasima province, 230 km northeast of Bangkok. The train was headed from the Thai capital to Ubon Ratchathani province.

"The death toll has now reached 32. The search for more bodies is ongoing," Police Colonel Thatchapon Chinnawong told Reuters by phone.

Transport Minister Phiphat Ratchakitprakarn said in a statement that there were 195 people on board, adding that he had ordered a thorough investigation to be carried out.

Those killed were in two of the three carriages hit by the crane, he said.

The crane was working on a high-speed rail project when it collapsed and hit the passing train, causing it to derail and briefly catch fire.

Images shared by the ministry showed carriages overturned next to shrubland and firefighters extinguishing a blaze as smoke billowed out.

Footage of the crash site verified by Reuters shows rescue workers trying to extract casualties from one of the buckled carriages, with some badly injured passengers already being loaded into ambulances.

The elevated high-speed rail project, one of several under construction in Thailand, was being built above the existing rail line. Part of the collapsed crane is still propped up by the stanchions built to support the new rail link.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said at a press briefing that the Chinese government attached great importance to the safety of projects and personnel and was looking into the situation.

"At present, it seems that the relevant section was under construction by a Thai enterprise. The cause of the accident is still under investigation."

The high-speed rail project will connect to China through Laos. The government said last year that more than a third of construction had been completed in the segment connecting Bangkok to Nakhon Ratchasima, and the whole line to Nong Khai at the border with Laos would be ready by 2030.

Thai media reported that rescue teams have been using heavy equipment to remove trapped passengers from the wreckage.

Rescue workers stood on top of overturned railways carriages, some of them with gaping holes torn on their sides, video from public broadcaster ThaiPBS showed. What appeared to be sections of the crane were scattered along the track.

Meanwhile, paramedics gave first aid to injured passengers.

Thai media reported the train had three carriages, the last two being the most damaged.

Transport Minister Piphat Ratchakitprakan said 195 people were on board the train. He said he ordered an investigation.

Local resident Mitr Intrpanya, 54, was at the scene when the incident happened.

“At around 9 am, I heard a loud noise, like something sliding down from above, followed by two explosions,” Mitr told the AFP news agency.

“When I went to see what had happened, I found the crane sitting on a passenger train with three carriages. The metal from the crane appeared to strike the middle of the second carriage, slicing it in half,” Mitr said.

Industrial and construction site accidents have long been common in Thailand.

In 2023, a freight train killed eight people when it struck a pick-up truck crossing railway tracks in eastern Thailand.

Three years earlier, a freight train killed at least 18 people and injured more than 40 when it crashed into a bus carrying passengers to a religious ceremony.

In March, an under-construction high-rise building collapsed in Bangkok after an earthquake, killing more than 100 people. — Agencies