At least 22 people have died and 80 others were injured after a crane collapsed on a passenger train in Thailand on Wednesday. The crash caused a train derailment and fire in Nakhon Ratchasima province, northeast of Bangkok. Local resident Mitr Intrpanya, 54, recalled hearing "a loud noise, like something sliding down from above, followed by two explosions." He saw the crane resting on the train's middle car, which was sliced in half. District police chief Thatchapon Chinnawong confirmed the deaths and said authorities are checking how many injured are critical. The train was traveling from Bangkok to Ubon Ratchathani with 195 passengers onboard. This happened at a construction site for a $5.4 billion high-speed rail project backed by Beijing, aiming to link Bangkok to China’s Kunming by 2028. The Nakhon Ratchasima public relations department said, "A crane collapsed onto a train causing it to derail and catch fire." Rescue teams worked to free passengers from the tilted carriages while fighting smoke from the wreckage. Due to chemical leakage at the site, rescue efforts were temporarily paused. Transport minister Phiphat Ratchakitprakarn ordered an investigation into the accident. Thailand's rail network is old and often neglected, with many people preferring road travel. When completed, the new 600km high-speed rail will connect Bangkok to Nong Khai on the Laos border at speeds up to 250 km/h. Industrial accidents at construction sites remain common in Thailand because of weak safety enforcement.