Train driver charged after deadly crash in Thailand

BANGKOK- Thai police have charged a train driver with negligence after a crash on Saturday in central Bangkok in which a freight train collided with a public bus at a rail crossing, killing eight people and injuring 32.

"The train driver has been charged with negligence causing death, as evidence clearly indicates reckless conduct leading to fatalities," Urumporn Koondejsumrit, head of the Makkasan Police Station, told Reuters.

He said the bus driver would also be charged, but remained under medical treatment and could not be questioned, so charges had not yet been filed. Investigators are examining whether additional charges may be brought, he said.

On Saturday, the freight train struck a bus that had been stopped on the tracks at a red light, sparking a fire that engulfed the vehicle and dragging several nearby vehicles along the tracks.

The site has been cleared and services restored, while authorities will tighten safety measures and oversight to prevent a repeat, Deputy Transport Minister Siripong Angkasakulkiat said in a statement.

Commuters said they had long feared a collision, as vehicles kept passing through the crossing despite stop signals. "It should not have happened. I want all drivers to understand traffic laws properly," said Thanphisit Nawatkonoangkoon, a 20-year-old train commuter.

Thailand’s roads rank among the world’s deadliest, according to the World Health Organization, due to weak enforcement of safety standards.

(Reporting by Orathai Sriring, Kitiphong Thaichareon and Napat Wesshasartar; Editing by David Holmes)