As of press time, eight victims including a seven-year-old girl and a monk remained hospitalised.

Screams rang across the accident scene immediately after a Thon Buri-bound train crashed head-on to a Yala-bound train on a diversion track at 2.42 am. Five train compartments were derailed, as passengers woke up to the nightmare scene in the middle of the night.

"I was sleeping when I heard an extremely loud bang. When I opened my eyes, things were scattered all around and people were screaming. I tried to look out of the train window but it's so dark outside," Anas Yodkham, a 59-year-old passenger, said.

He later managed to get out of his compartment with minor injuries.

"It's my luck that I have survived," Anas said, after seeing the battered compartments from outside.

Paijit Chuyod, driver of the Yalabound train, was found dead inside his locomotive compartment.

Train hostess Wanida Phokhan, an employee of JM Food Industry Co Ltd, died shortly after she was retrieved from the debris.

Train technician Theerapon Boonchai was conscious throughout nearly four hours when rescue workers tried to help him out of the battered compartment. However, he too later succumbed to serious injuries. Paijit and Theerapon were employees of the State Railway of Thailand (SRT).

Medical professionals and rescue workers from various units rushed to help the victims at the accident scene.

Siva Saengmanee, the chairman of SRT board, said the accident caused between Bt150million and Bt200million in damage.

According to him, primary investigation suggested that the Thon Buri-bound diesel railcar ran against the light and thus hit the Yala-bound train that was on the diversion route. A fact-finding committee was now established to carefully look into the case and determine the cause of the accident.

By 7.10 am Sunday, SRT removed all debris from the affected railway and train services were now available as usual.

Public Health Ministry's spokesman Dr Suphan Srithamma said the train crash injured more than 100 people but most of them received only minor injuries such as bruises.

"The hospitalised victims are also out of danger now," he said.

Prachuap Khiri Khan Governor Prasong Pitoonkijja said he never saw two trains colliding before.

The Nation