At a factory in Samut Prakan, a steel beam weighing several dozen tons slipped and crushed a worker, causing one death and one injury. The injured was taken to hospital and is in stable condition. Authorities are urgently investigating the true cause.
At 11:00 on 31 August 2026, Police Lieutenant Montree Nakok, deputy investigator at Bang Phli police station, received a report of a large steel beam crushing workers, resulting in one death and one injury. The incident occurred inside a steel factory in Bang Pla Subdistrict, Bang Phli District, Samut Prakan Province. He, along with an on-call doctor from Ramathibodi Chakri Naruebodindra Hospital and Ruamkatanyu Foundation members, went to investigate.
The scene was a large steel storage factory covering more than 3 rai, with various types and sizes of steel stacked over 5 meters high. In the middle of the factory, a 12-meter-long I-beam weighing over 500 kilograms each had slipped and piled in the center, crushing Mr. Watcharapong Jangsawang, 41, a Samut Prakan resident and worker who had climbed into a gap in the steel stack and was operating a crane to lift steel. He died under the several-dozen-ton steel pile. Another worker, Mr. Chaiwit Uthaisang, from Nong Khai Province, suffered injuries to his left knee and ankle after being hit by the slipping steel. He was given first aid and taken to Bangna 5 Hospital, initially in stable condition. Officials had to use equipment carefully to remove the body from the steel pile.
Mr. Nontakorn Yiwaram, 29, a coworker, said the steel beams were about 12 meters long. Before the accident, workers were helping to lift and arrange the steel, with the deceased controlling movement from atop the stack. During this, one beam that had been lifted but not yet properly positioned suddenly slipped down, hitting other stacked beams and causing the pile to collapse. The event happened quickly, leaving nearby workers no time to escape.
Initially, Police Lieutenant Montree Nakok is questioning witnesses and inspecting the steel lifting and arranging procedures, as well as the factory equipment, to determine the true cause and proceed with legal action.