Video: Barge Destroys Bridge Near Bangkok

[Brief] On Thursday, an inland barge struck a bridge on the Thai Chin River, causing the structure to collapse. 

The barge was being pushed ahead, and it was under way to an oil factory with a full load of soybeans. It hit a pillar of the bridge in front of Wat Thaiyawat, a temple located about 15 miles west of downtown Bangkok.

“Luckily I wasn’t at the front of the boat but at the back today,” crewmember Sathit Kasemwong told Khaosod English. “Usually there’s someone stationed at the front and back.”

The vessel's master, Sumet Tappandee, was fined for operating a tug with an expired license, and may also face penalties for property damage. He told media that his tug lost steerage before the allision. 

300 feet of the bridge's decks fell into the river – nearly the entirety of the structure – and local officials said that repairs would likely cost hundreds of thousands of dollars. For now, boat ferries have been arranged to carry commuters back and forth across the river.