Red Line electric train accident caused by negligence

BANGKOK, May 4 (TNA) - The Engineering Institute of Thailand (EIT) pinpointed that an equipment problem and recklessness are the cause of the fatal accident at the Red Line BTS construction site in Don Mueang area late last month. EIT President, Thanet Veerasiri told a news conference about the cause of the fatal accident that the crane, used for lifting concrete beam was not in the right position as it was moved forward and backward negligently, causing a steel support structure to collapse and killed three workers at the scene. To build confidence on the safety, the EIT has rolled out measures for contractors to increase strength of the support equipment. The safety measures also require that when any problem occurs, works at the site must be stopped and workers must alert supervising engineers immediately. Meanwhile, Kampon Boonchom, the director of the Red Line Elevated Train Project said that the State Railway of Thailand (SRT) had put in place safety measures for the construction of the electric rail route and officials strictly inspected work every week. The accident was caused by negligence and the SRT informed the Italian-Thai Development Plc, the contractor of the Bang Sue-Rangsit Red Line Rail project to step up safety measures to prevent recurrence of such an accident. He added the SRT will have safety experts inspect construction sites of all electric train routes to check if they comply with the safety standards. (TNA)