Body of sixth victim in deadly Rama II Road crane collapse retrieved

Rescue officials on Saturday morning retrieved the body of the sixth and last victim of a crane collapse accident on Rama II Road in Samut Sakhon province, the Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation said.

The construction crane carrying a concrete truss collapsed on Rama II Road in Mueang district of Samut Sakhon province at 4am on Friday.

Six people were killed – two Thais and four from Myanmar – while nine workers were injured. Three of the injured have been allowed to go home, while the other six were being treated at a hospital.

The department had said earlier on Friday that two bodies were not immediately found and were believed to have been buried under the debris. Officials spent over eight hours searching for the victims in the dark in a mission that progressed slowly in a bid to ensure the safety of all rescue personnel, it said.

The fifth body was retrieved at 8pm on Friday, while the last body was retrieved at around 5.30am on Saturday, concluding the search mission.

Transport Minister Suriya Jungrungreangkit is scheduled to inspect the accident site today as he was in Chiang Mai on Friday for a mobile Cabinet meeting.

Suriya said on Friday that the contractor would face a ban of two to four years from receiving construction jobs, adding he would be discussing this issue with the Comptroller-General's Department first.