"Aunt Taew," a victim of the crane collapse crushing the train, opened up about the moment of the accident before tragically losing her German husband right before her eyes. She revealed her husband loved Thailand and had arranged for his funeral to be held in Surin Province as per his last wishes, before she relocates to live with their child in Germany.
On 17 January 2026 at 12:00, a reporter visited Ban Sar Yai, Nong Khwao Subdistrict, Sikhio District, Surin Province to meet Mrs. Taew Imer Tenbring, 63, one of the injured from the crane accident during the construction of the high-speed railway, when the crane collapsed onto the special express train No. 21 Bangkok-Ubon Ratchathani at Moo 11, Ban Thanon Kot, Sikhio Subdistrict, Sikhio District, Nakhon Ratchasima Province. She lost her German husband, Mr. Fredik Imer Tenbring, in this incident.
Mrs. Taew Imer Tenbring has returned home to recover. Local leaders and neighbors visited her throughout the day. Meanwhile, the deceased husband's body is awaiting their daughter's arrival from Germany to conduct DNA testing for identification before any religious rites can be performed.
Mrs. Taew described the moment of the accident: she heard a loud noise and was very frightened, thinking it was an explosion by Cambodians targeting the train she was on. Looking at her husband, she saw him lying on his back with his feet pointing upward, trapped under metal debris along his torso. She only watched him and did not hear him call out. She tried to help but couldn't, so she scrambled out of the train, calling for others to assist her husband. When she tried to run back to help, officials stopped her, fearing she might be caught in another accident.
She shouted that the man trapped was her foreign husband. Officials told her to come out and assured her they would take care of him. Currently, her injuries have improved somewhat, with bruises on her forehead, eye socket, lower lip, and abdomen caused by an unknown object striking her.
She also said she has contacted her daughter in Germany to fly to Thailand to perform DNA identification of her husband. The daughter is scheduled to arrive on 25 January 2026. They expect to receive the husband's body by the end of January and conduct Buddhist funeral rites in Surin Province, her hometown. This was per her husband’s wishes before coming to Thailand, instructing that if anything happened, his body should not be sent back to Germany but cremated according to Buddhist customs. He told her he loved Thailand. After the ceremony, she plans to fly back to Germany to live with their daughter.
Additionally, Aunt Taew told reporters that after returning home in Surin, one night while she was asleep, she was startled by a loud noise at the front door. She thought someone was there, hearing breathing sounds outside. When she opened the door, no one was there. She believes it was her husband's spirit. The traumatic memory of seeing her husband during the accident remains vividly etched in her mind.