A crane at a China-backed high-speed rail project collapsed onto a passenger train Wednesday, causing it to derail and killing at least 32 people, authorities said.

Three people were missing and 64 were hospitalized, including seven in serious condition, the Thai health ministry said.

From her hospital bed, survivor Taew Eimertenbrink, 63, said her German husband “was killed instantly” in the derailment. “I was sleeping. He was sleeping. A metal bar was on him,” she said.

The train was traveling from Bangkok to Ubon Ratchathani with 195 passengers on board, the provincial public relations department said. Witness Mitr Intrpanya said the crane “appeared to strike the middle of the second carriage, slicing it in half.”

The crane belonged to Italian-Thai Development, one of Thailand’s largest construction firms, which has faced several deadly accidents in recent years. The company said it would “take responsibility for compensating the victims' families and covering medical expenses.”

Engineering consultant Theerachote Rujiviphat said Italian-Thai was solely responsible. Transport Minister Phiphat Ratchakitprakarn said all parties, including a Chinese consultancy, would be held accountable. Thailand’s state rail operator ordered Italian-Thai to halt construction and said it would set up a fact-finding committee within 15 days to “prosecute those responsible to the fullest extent of the law.”

Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul said it was “clearly the fault of the construction company” and called for laws to blacklist firms repeatedly responsible for accidents.

Italian-Thai and its director were indicted last year over a Bangkok high-rise collapse that killed about 90 people. The high-speed railway, part of a $5 billion China-backed project linking Bangkok to Kunming via Laos, is scheduled for completion in 2028. China’s Foreign Ministry expressed condolences and said it “attaches great importance to the safety of this project and its personnel.”