Bangkok—
At 1:00 PM, on January 18th, 2024, Samae Dam police received an accident report of a crane sling snapping causing one death and one injury to construction workers on Rama 2 Road, Soi 72, Bang Khun Thian, Bangkok.
Thai forensic science officers and medic teams were dispatched to a construction site on the Rama 2 Elevated Expressway and found a crane and a steel basket used for carrying construction tools.
According to a report by the police, the two victims were mechatronics technicians who were publicly identified as Mr. Wiphak Promprasong, 44, who was found deceased, and Mr. Teerapat Khannok, 24, who suffered an undisclosed injury. The medical teams urgently transferred Teerapat to PMG Hospital.
An unidentified crane driver told the police that the victims reportedly were using a steel basket to perform maintenance on elevated expressway support rails. Suddenly, the basket fell to the ground as the sling snapped, the crane driver then called the police.
The crane driver asserted that he was not careless and the accident was allegedly from a crane safety failure, reported the police. The basket, however, was not intended to normally carry people.
On the same day, Mr. Kritchanon Aiyapanya, the spokesman for the Ministry of Transport, performed a field inspection on the construction site and ordered a suspension of the construction company for three days to further investigate the incident and their safety measures.
“Initially, it was reported that the crane and basket maintenance were under investigation. However, the crane driver from the construction company headquarters made a mistake as the crane was extended to a high level but the sling was too tense, causing it to snap,” Kritchanon told Thai national media.
However, the accident was at the construction site, so there were no traffic jams.
Read about another recent accident at a construction site on Rama 2 Road.
