Police have charged the bus driver and the railway guard responsible for manually lowering the crossing barrier at the Asoke-Din Daeng railway crossing

Bus and train crash in Bangkok

Rescue workers extinguish a fire on the wreckage of a public bus after it collides with a freight train.Credit : Anusak Laowilas/NurPhoto via Getty

New details are emerging after a devastating train and bus collision in Bangkok, Thailand, left at least eight people dead and dozens more injured on Saturday, May 16.

The driver of the freight train involved in the crash tested positive for drugs and has since been charged with reckless driving, according to authorities, per the BBC. Authorities did not specify which drugs were found in the driver’s urine test.

Police have also charged the bus driver and the railway guard responsible for manually lowering the crossing barrier at the Asoke-Din Daeng railway crossing, according to statements cited by the outlet.

Police officers, rescue workers and firefighters stand at the site of a train collision with a bus underneath Makkasan Airport Rail station in Bangkok

Police officers, rescue workers and firefighters stand at the site of a train collision with a bus underneath Makkasan Airport Rail station.Lillian SUWANRUMPHA / AFP via Getty

In the wake of the crash, Thailand’s rail transport department ordered mandatory drug and alcohol testing for all train drivers and railway staff before they begin their shifts, director-general Pichet Kunadhamraks told the BBC.

Preliminary findings from the train’s black box showed the emergency braking system was activated only about 100 meters, or roughly 330 feet, before impact, which was not enough distance to stop the train in time, according to Thai PBS, as cited by the outlet.

Videos circulating online captured the moment the freight train barreled into a public bus at a crowded railway crossing near an airport station in Bangkok on Saturday.

The force of the collision appeared to push several nearby vehicles down the tracks before the bus burst into flames, setting nearby cars on fire. Some motorcyclists were also thrown from their bikes during the crash.

Emergency response team present at a collision site near Makkasan Airport Rail station no celebrities noted in this image

Forensic police officers, rescue workers and firefighters stand at the site of a train collision.Lillian SUWANRUMPHA / AFP via Getty

Footage from the aftermath later showed rescue crews climbing into the burned bus as they searched for victims and recovered bodies from the wreckage.

Witness Kittipong Raksa told the Associated Press that he had stopped near the crossing after hearing a warning signal indicating that a train was approaching .

Raksa said he never saw the crossing barriers lowered before vehicles entered the tracks.

Bus and train crash in Bangkok

A police officer seen inspects a burnt public bus after it collides with a cargo train at the Makkasan airport rail link station.Peerapon Boonyakiat/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty

“I heard a thud and then another,” Raksa told the AP. “I heard something hitting my car. Then I saw the train pass, dragging the bus with it.”

After the collision, Raksa said he discovered a person trapped beneath his vehicle with a broken leg, he told the AP.

Thailand has long struggled with a high rate of deadly transportation accidents, with factors such as speeding, impaired driving and inconsistent traffic law enforcement frequently cited as contributing causes, according to the AFP.

SOURCE: https://people.com/train-driver-tests-positive-for-drugs-after-deadly-bangkok-bus-collision-11978241