06.10.09 8 killed as train derails
Driver may have dozed off, says top SRT source
Driver carelessness is suspected as a possible cause of a train
derailment at Khao Tao station in Prachuap Khiri Khan which has left
eight people dead and another 88 injured.
The Bangkok-bound express train from Trang derailed at Khao Tao station in Hua Hin district at 4.47am yesterday.
It left Trang at 5.20pm on Sunday and was supposed to arrive in Bangkok at 8.25am.
Twelve of 14 carriages on the train left the track, with six of them
overturning and one slamming into the ground. Four carriages were badly
damaged with the first railway staff car being the worst hit.
The State Railway of Thailand has estimated the damage from one of
the deadliest accidents in Thai railway history to be at least 100
million baht.
The train was driven by Roengsak Panthep with Uthai Raksakhet the engineer. Mr Roengsak fled the scene.
Normally, a train has one driver and an assistant who is an engineer.
The SRT said Mr Roengsak failed to slow the train when approaching
Khao Tao station to switch over to a second track as the main track was
occupied by a southbound freight train.
The northbound train was travelling at 105km/h, too fast to get on
to the other track, and that caused the derailment, said PM's Office
Minister Sathit Wongnongtoey, who paid a visit to the scene.
SRT governor Yuthana Thapcharoen, who also rushed to the scene,
believed human error was the most likely cause because the driver had
ignored an alert from Khao Tao station staff about the parked freight
train.
But the SRT governor also did not rule out two other possibilities:
poor weather conditions caused by heavy rain and the train's old
equipment.
Transport Minister Sohpon Zarum promised to shed light on the cause of the accident in five days.
A high-ranking SRT source suspected the driver might have dozed off before the accident.
The source said Mr Roengsak jumped the light at Wang Phong station, which is eight kilometres south of Khao Tao.
Mr Sathit said Mr Roengsak did not answer a radio call from Wang
Phong to alert him of the other train parked on the main track at Khao
Tao after seeing his train go through the signal light at Wang Phong.
SRT union leader Sawit Kaeowan said Mr Roengsak might not have been
well rested before taking over control of the train at Chumphon station
from another driver who was at the controls from Trang.
The labour union blamed shortages for staff being overworked. The
SRT has been forced by a cabinet resolution issued on July 28, 1998 to
replace only 5% of staff who retire or resign.
The SRT has 2,200 drivers who handle 200 trains and 2,000 engineers. "The present workforce is not sufficient," Mr Sawit said.
He said the SRT needed 300 more drivers and 500 additional engineers.
Most drivers end up working double shifts, the union leader said.
More than 100 local rescue workers and soldiers, as well as rescue
workers from Bangkok and nearby provinces, were deployed yesterday at
the scene to help the victims amid heavy rain.
Rescue workers found six dead women and a child, Kanoklak
Thaboonruang, 2. The dead women were identified as Orapin Jaijit, 42,
Narueman Nayasunthornkul, 50, Wimol Somjing, 43, her sister Kalayakorn
Somjing, 41, Bowonrat Thivavej, 25, and Sanruethai Nim from Bangkok.
The bodies were transported to Hua Hin Hospital.
The eighth victim found later yesterday has yet to be identified, Mr Sathit said.
Six of the injured were foreigners.
Most injured had their wounds treated and were discharged from
hospital. Twenty-two were admitted to Pran Buri, San Paulo Hua Hin and
Hua Hin hospitals.
Cranes were used to move damaged carriages and rescue workers
collected passengers' belongings and sent them to Hua Hin and Khao Tao
railway stations.
Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva also visited the scene.
He said the southern line service could reopen today after all safety measures had been checked.
The accident caused the cancellation of 28 other passenger trains and five freight trains yesterday. Source: Bangkok Post, 06.10.09 http://www.bangkokpost.com/news/local/25090/8-killed-as-train-derails
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