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Thailand reels from deadly Bangkok train crash, its latest avoidable tragedy
A drug-positive train driver with no licence. A barrier raised too late. Thailand’s capital asks: when will the city finally fix itself?
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Bangkok residents were digesting yet another avoidable tragedy on Monday after eight people were killed when a goods train ploughed into a city bus at a busy level crossing on Saturday afternoon.
The train driver, who later tested positive for drugs, had also not received a valid operator’s licence from the Department of Rail Transport.
A fireball erupted as the train struck the bus at the Asok-Dindaeng intersection, in a notoriously congested part of Thailand’s capital, igniting the vehicle’s gas canisters and engulfing nearby cars and a motorbike that had pressed up against the crossing.
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The ferocity of the blaze was such that the remains of several victims are still awaiting full forensic identification. The collision was captured on CCTV.
Authorities were quick to attribute the crash to human error. The driver, identified as Sayomporn Sonkul, ignored a red flag from a trackside guard, who officials said also appeared slow to lower the level-crossing barrier, allowing the orange city bus to become stranded on the tracks.
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