A fresh safety incident at the Rama II Road construction site in Samut Sakhon on Tuesday has renewed scrutiny of a contractor linked to multiple deadly infrastructure accidents, prompting Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul to demand the cancellation of its government contracts.
The incident occurred when a brief fire broke out during debris-clearing operations at the crane collapse site early Tuesday morning. Workers were attempting to cut free a wrecked pickup truck when sparks ignited residual fuel inside the vehicle.
The fire was further fuelled by styrofoam materials being transported by the pickup, which are known to be highly flammable. The blaze was quickly contained, but raised concerns over ongoing safety lapses at the site.
Prime Minister Anutin said the incident underscored the failure to improve safety standards following previous accidents. He instructed the Department of Highways and the State Railway of Thailand to move toward revoking two contracts held by the contractor involved, though he stopped short of naming the company.
Italian-Thai Development Plc is currently undertaking two major projects — the elevated expressway above Rama II Road in Muang district, Samut Sakhon, and the elevated high-speed railway bridge in Sikhiu district of Nakhon Ratchasima.
The latter project was the site of a catastrophic gantry crane collapse that crushed a passing train, killing 30 people and injuring dozens more.
“I told the Department of Highways, the State Railway of Thailand and the Ministry of Transport to ignore contractual conditions. Action can be taken under administrative laws because it is danger to the public,” Mr Anutin said.
The gantry crane had been installed as part of an overpass structure for the high-speed railway when it fell directly onto the express train below.
In Samut Sakhon, a separate crane collapse earlier resulted in two deaths and led authorities to shut down the frontage road for safety reasons.
Deputy Prime Minister Bowornsak Uwanno said the attorney-general has been tasked with exploring legal options to annul the contracts and pursue civil damages against the contractor.
Later on Tuesday, Prime Minister Anutin attended a compensation ceremony at Government House for families affected by the Nakhon Ratchasima tragedy. The State Railway of Thailand disbursed 340,000 baht to each bereaved family, while Dhipaya Insurance provided an additional one million baht per case.
“On behalf of the government, I extend condolences to the families and relatives of the deceased… This tragedy caused great loss to the country and broke the hearts of people nationwide,” Mr Anutin said.
Meanwhile, in Sikhiu district, Italian-Thai Development workers completed the removal of the remaining crane debris by midday on Tuesday. State railway officials subsequently began repairs on approximately 36 metres of damaged railway track.
