Another construction crane collapse in Thailand kills 2 people a day after deadly train derailment

NAKHON RATCHASIMA, Thailand (AP) — A construction crane collapsed onto an elevated road near Bangkok, killing two people on Thursday, a day after another crane fell on a moving passenger train in northeastern Thailand and killed 32 people.

The work on an extension of the Rama 2 Road expressway — a major artery leading from Bangkok — has become notorious for construction accidents, some of them fatal.

The crane collapsed at part of the road project in Samut Sakhon province, trapping two vehicles in the wreckage, according to the government’s Public Relations Department.

Transport Minister Phiphat Ratchakitprakarn said on Thai TV Channel 7 that two people had died. It was unclear if anyone else had been trapped in the wreckage.

There was uncertainty about the number of victims because the site is still considered too dangerous for search teams to enter, said Suchart Tongteng, a rescue worker with the Ruamkatanyu Foundation.

“At this moment, we still can’t say whether another collapse could happen,” he said, citing dangling steel plates. “That’s why there are no rescue personnel inside the scene, only teams conducting on-site safety assessments.”

At the site of Wednesday's train derailment, the search for survivors ended, Nakhon Ratchasima Gov. Anuphong Suksomnit said. Three passengers listed as missing were presumed to have gotten off the train earlier, but that was still being investigated.

Officials believed 171 people had been aboard the train’s three carriages, which were being removed from the scene Thursday.

The crane that fell, crushing part of the train, was a launching gantry crane, a mobile piece of equipment often used in building elevated roadways.

Police were still collecting evidence and interviewing witnesses and have not pressed charges, provincial Police Chief Narongsak Promta told reporters.

South Korea's Foreign Ministry reported a South Korean man in his late 30s, was among the dead.

The high-speed rail project where the accident occurred is associated with the plan to connect China with Southeast Asia under Beijing’s Belt and Road Initiative.

In August 2024, a railway tunnel on the planned route, also in Nakhon Ratchasima, collapsed, killing three workers.

Anan Phonimdaeng, acting governor of the State Railway of Thailand, said the project’s contractor is Italian-Thai Development, with a Chinese company responsible for design and construction supervision.

A statement posted on the website of the company, also known as Italthai, expressed condolences to the victims and said the company would pay compensation to the families of the dead and hospitalization expenses for the injured.

Transport Minister Phiphat said Italthai was also the lead contractor on the highway project where Thursday's accident took place, though several other companies are also involved.

The rail accident had already sparked outrage because Italthai was also the co-lead contractor for the State Audit Building in Bangkok that collapsed during construction last March during a major earthquake centered in Myanmar. The building's collapse was the worst quake damage in Thailand and about 100 people were killed.

Twenty-three individuals and companies have been indicted, including Italthai's president and the local director for the company China Railway No. 10, the project’s joint venture partner. The charges in the case include professional negligence and document forgery, and Thailand's Department of Special Investigation has recommended more indictments.

The involvement of Chinese companies in both projects has also drawn attention, as has Italthai and Chinese companies’ involvement in the construction of several expressway extensions in and around Bangkok where several accidents, some fatal, have occurred.

In Beijing, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said Wednesday the government was aware of the rail accident and had expressed condolences.

Associated Press writers Wasamon Audjarint in Bangkok and Hyung-jin Kim in Seoul, South Korea, contributed to this report.

Relatives of victims and others wait at a hospital, a day after a construction crane fell into a passenger train in Nakhon Ratchasima province, Thailand, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit)

Relatives wait at a hospital to receive bodies of victims, a day after a construction crane fell into a passenger train in Nakhon Ratchasima province, Thailand, Thursday, Jan.15, 2026. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit)

Forensic workers inspect the site of a train accident, a day after a construction crane fell into a passenger train in Nakhon Ratchasima province, Thailand, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit)

A cuddly toy lies on the ground at the site of a train accident, a day after a construction crane fell into a passenger train in Nakhon Ratchasima province, Thailand, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit)

A construction crane that collapsed on the Rama 2 Road elevated expressway in Samut Sakhon province, Thailand on Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Arnun Chonmahatrakool)

A construction crane that collapsed on the Rama 2 Road elevated expressway in Samut Sakhon province, Thailand on Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Arnun Chonmahatrakool)

A construction crane that collapsed on the Rama 2 Road elevated expressway in Samut Sakhon province, Thailand on Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Arnun Chonmahatrakool)

PIOMBINO DESE, Italy--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jun 8, 2026--

Stevanato Group S.p.A. (NYSE: STVN), a leading global provider of drug containment, drug delivery, and diagnostic solutions for the pharmaceutical, biotechnology, and life sciences industries, today introduced Deora™, a new proprietary pen injector platform targeting incretin-based therapies, as well as supporting other originator and biosimilar drug development programs.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260608096966/en/

Deora™ is a multi-use, fixed-dose pen injector featuring a simple pull-push mechanism for dose setting and delivery: the user pulls to set the dose, then pushes to inject. This intuitive sequence eliminates the need for manual dose selection, reducing common sources of use error and supporting consistent drug delivery across multiple administrations. The platform is compatible with standard 1.5 mL and 3 mL cartridges and accommodates fixed-dose volumes up to 0.75 mL.

“With Deora™, we are broadening our product offering in therapeutic areas experiencing strong global demand and favorable market momentum,” said Michele Monico, President of Drug Delivery Systems and In Vitro Diagnostics at Stevanato Group. "We believe there is space for a simple, multi-use device that enhances the patient experience while simultaneously reducing the pressure on supply chain scale-up. Our belief has been supported by early customer interest, and we are providing our pharmaceutical partners with evaluation units to support early-stage testing and development activities.”

The device architecture provides flexibility across multiple fixed-dose configurations while minimizing the need for design changes across variants. In addition, it is designed to integrate seamlessly into existing supply chains, enabling efficient industrialization and scalable manufacturing.

“Deora™ further expands Stevanato Group’s proprietary portfolio of drug delivery devices, providing a solution designed for multi-dose therapies requiring consistent administration and ease of use in a familiar pen format,” added Michele Monico. “Customers can now choose from different hand-held device platforms – Alina®, Aidaptus®, and Deora™ – to address a broad range of therapeutic needs.”

Deora™ leverages Stevanato Group’s established manufacturing capabilities, with production aligned to support future commercialization. Drawing on its end-to-end expertise across glass manufacturing, analytical services, and device engineering, Stevanato Group offers fully integrated solutions that can simplify development for pharmaceutical partners.

Together, these characteristics position Deora™ as a platform intended to support partners as they advance early development programs and prepare for future scale-up.

About Stevanato Group

Founded in 1949, Stevanato Group is a leading global provider of drug containment, drug delivery and diagnostic solutions to the pharmaceutical, biotechnology and life sciences industries. The Group delivers an integrated, end-to-end portfolio of products, processes and services that address customer needs across the entire drug life cycle at each of the development, clinical and commercial stages. Stevanato Group’s core capabilities in scientific research and development, its commitment to technical innovation and its engineering excellence are central to its ability to offer value added solutions to clients. To learn more, visit: www.stevanatogroup.com.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release may include forward-looking statements. The words “strong”, “experiencing”, “believe”, “are providing”, “position”, “advance”, “intended”, “prepare”, “future”, and similar expressions (or their negative) identify certain of these forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are statements regarding the Company's intentions, beliefs or current expectations concerning, among other things, the investments the Company expects to receive, the expansion of manufacturing capacity, the Company’s plans regarding its presence in the U.S. market, business strategies, the Company’s capacity to meet future market demands and support preparedness for future public health emergencies, and results of operations. The forward-looking statements in this press release are based on numerous assumptions regarding the Company’s present and future business strategies and the environment in which the Company will operate in the future. Forward-looking statements involve inherent known and unknown risks, uncertainties and contingencies because they relate to events and depend on circumstances that may or may not occur in the future and may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of the Company to be materially different from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Many of these risks and uncertainties relate to factors that are beyond the Company's ability to control or estimate precisely, such as future market conditions, currency fluctuations, the behavior of other market participants, the actions of regulators and other factors such as the Company's ability to continue to obtain financing to meet its liquidity needs, changes in the political, social and regulatory framework in which the Company operates or in economic or technological trends or conditions. Readers should therefore not place undue reliance on these statements, particularly not in connection with any contract or investment decision. Except as required by law, the company assumes no obligation to update any such forward-looking statements.

Deora™ is Stevanato Group’s multi-use, fixed-dose pen injector designed for subcutaneous drug delivery in therapies such as diabetes and weight management. Featuring an intuitive pull‑push mechanism, the device simplifies dose administration by eliminating the need for manual dose selection: users pull to set the dose and push to inject, supporting consistent delivery across multiple administrations. The platform accommodates fixed-dose volumes up to 0.75 mL and is compatible with standard 1.5 mL and 3 mL cartridges, offering flexibility across a range of therapeutic applications. Engineered with patient usability in mind, Deora™ provides tactile, visual, and audible feedback during operation, helping reduce common sources of use error. Its architecture is designed to integrate seamlessly into existing supply chains, enabling efficient industrialization and scalable manufacturing for pharmaceutical partners