Families of those involved in the deadly collision between a train and a public bus in the Asok area of Bangkok are awaiting autopsy results to confirm the identities of the victims, while several relatives continue hoping their loved ones survived the incident.
Eight people were confirmed dead after a container train collided with public bus route 206 beneath Airport Rail Link Makkasan Station on Saturday, May 16. More than 33 others, including the bus driver, were reportedly injured.
Officials have not yet confirmed the identities of all the deceased. Forensic teams are conducting autopsies and DNA analysis before notifying families.
Wirun Sunphasingsiriprecha, commander of the Forensic Science Institute at Police General Hospital, told ThaiRath that seven families had reported relatives missing following the collision and believed they may have been among the victims.
Wirun explained that severe fire damage prevented investigators from relying on fingerprints and dental records in several cases. Instead, officials are using blood and bone samples to obtain DNA profiles and compare them with samples provided by relatives.
One of the family members waiting for results is 59 year old Wipada Chantra, who fears her adopted daughter, 25 year old Wiparak “Rose” Paophuree, may have died in the crash.
Wipada told reporters that her daughter’s smartwatch repeatedly sent emergency alerts to her device during the incident. She said she repeatedly called Rose’s phone before a rescuer eventually answered.
According to Wipada, the rescuer informed her that Rose had been involved in the collision, prompting her to travel from Ubon Ratchathani to Bangkok. She later searched hospitals for her daughter’s name among the injured but found no record.
Wipada said one of the unidentified victims matched Rose’s characteristics, although she is still waiting for official confirmation from the autopsy results. She added that she continued to hope her daughter was not among the dead.
Rose’s latest Instagram story reportedly showed her travelling on the bus before the collision while heading to work. She was seen sitting by a window seat on the right side of the vehicle.
Wipada described Rose as a strong student who graduated with second-class honours from Kasetsart University. She said her daughter enjoyed both her full-time and part-time jobs and had planned to save money before moving to live with her in Ubon Ratchathani.
Another relative, Siriluck, believes her 66 year old aunt, Iang, may also have died in the collision. She said a woman seen on the bus resembled her aunt.
Siriluck checked CCTV footage near Iang’s home and reportedly saw her leaving the house wearing a shirt matching the colour of clothing worn by one of the passengers on the bus.
She added that Iang’s son was travelling from Udon Thani to Bangkok to provide DNA samples for identification. Siriluck told Channel 3 that she hoped her aunt was not among the victims.
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