Update on the "Rama 2 crane collapse": after the first victim's body was previously recovered, rescue officials have confirmed finding the second deceased person at the driver's seat. Recovery operations are expected to conclude tonight.
In the incident involving a crane on the Rama 2 elevated highway between km 30+300 and km 30+400 near the entrance to Samut Sakhon Transport Terminal in Tha Chin Subdistrict, Mueang District, Samut Sakhon Province, the crane collapsed onto the main outbound lane before the Tha Chin River bridge, crushing two civilian vehicles. Two people were killed trapped inside the wreckage, and two others were injured and taken to Mahachai 1 Hospital and Jesadavej Samut Sakhon Hospital.
Throughout the day, officials, rescue teams, and relevant agencies coordinated to plan and mobilize resources to recover the crane wreckage. They used crane trucks and cut the fallen crane into parts blocking the road to clear the area safely and proceed with extracting the deceased inside the two vehicles.
At around 14:30, engineers from the Department of Highways under the Ministry of Transport, along with related agencies and volunteers from the Samut Sakhon Charity Foundation, coordinated with Ruamkatanyu Foundation and Poh Teck Tung Foundation. Equipped with cutting tools, they began recovering the first victim from the incident scene. The body was inside a white box truck with license plate 2ฒว 3739 Bangkok, driven by Somphong Srisuk, 51, who worked as a delivery driver. It took about one hour to retrieve the body before sending it to the forensic institute at Samut Sakhon Hospital for autopsy.
Later at 19:46, reporters reported that the recovery mission for the second victim, Sarawut Wetjakarn, was ongoing despite challenges posed by the massive 500-ton crane. Officials divided into three teams working in 30-minute shifts. In the past hour, they located the second victim's body inside the driver's cabin and were in the process of recovering it.
Suthep Tongteng, a volunteer from Ruamkatanyu rescue team, said they have accessed the vehicle and used cutting equipment to open the door. The victim was found in the driver's seat, leaning toward the passenger side as if trying to avoid impact. The concrete beam joint had crushed the roof, which is now supported by two braces to facilitate body extraction. Suthep estimated the recovery could be completed soon, with teams rotating every 30 minutes and expected to finish within 45 minutes.
Any further updates will be reported as they become available.