PHETCHABURI: A woman was killed and two other people seriously injured when their car collided with a train at an unguarded level crossing in Khao Yoi district on Thursday night.
The crash occurred near a bridge being built over railway tracks in Huay Rong village, said Pol Lt Col Narong Phraibua, investigation chief of Khao Yoi police.
The accident was reported at 10.50pm, according to the Sawang Sanphet rescue foundation Facebook page.
Police and rescue workers who rushed to the scene found a crushed Toyota Vios with Ayutthaya licence plates upended against the bridge's beam supports.
The dead woman, identified as Thitichaya Yaemkesorn, 21, of Ratchaburi province, had reportedly been thrown from the vehicle.
Rescuers had to cut two injured men out of the wreckage before taking them to hospital. They were identified as the driver, Theerayuth Khuenta, 39, and Bundit Charoensap, 33.
The Bangkok-Surat Thani special express train had by then come to a stop nearby. A quick examination showed no damage.
Pol Lt Col Narong said the three victims were employees of Royal Plus, a company which produces bottled fruit juice in Samut Songkhram province.
They were returning to their living quarters in the factory grounds after dining nearby.
The accident came just days after 19 people were killed and 44 others injured when a bus collided with a freight train at a railway crossing in Chachoengsao on Sunday. The day before that, a car crashed at an illegal crossing in Surat Thani province.
The kingdom had 2,657 rail crossings in 2019, of which 676 were considered illegal due to a lack of safety measures, including the absence of barriers, according to the State Railway of Thailand.
It costs about five million baht to install automatic barriers at each crossing.
There were 486 accidents related to rail crossings and railways between 2014 and last year, 143 of which were at illegal crossings.