Chinese man crushed to death by hydraulic press at factory in Thailand

A Chinese man died yesterday when his head was crushed by a rubber moulding hydraulic press machine he was repairing at a tire factory in Rayong province in eastern Thailand.

At 7.56pm, a 35 year old Chinese mechanic was repairing the machine when something went wrong and the press came down and crushed his head. The mechanic was rushed to Pluak Daeng Hospital where he sadly passed away from the severe wounds he sustained.

The superintendent of Pluak Daeng Police Station, Pol. Col. Chaiyaphong Saengphongchai, reported today that the incident happened at a tyre factory in the Amata City Rayong Industrial Estate in Mapyangphon subdistrict, Pluak Daeng district.

Superintendent Chaiyaphong said that a commissioned officer at the station, Pol. Lt. Theeraphong Lordthonglang, was called in to inspect the scene of the accident.

Pol. Lt. Theerpahong said that officials from the factory are under investigation. If this is a case of negligence then whoever is responsible will be prosecuted according to the law.

The factory produces tyres for a Chinese company, mostly managed by Chinese nationals, with many Chinese employees, police said.

Sadly, fatal incidents at factories and construction sites are not uncommon in Thailand, where building and construction work is deemed one of the country’s most dangerous professions.

Last week, an Italian factory sales manager was impaled and killed by a forklift as he was arriving at work on the back of a motorbike taxi in Samut Prakan province just south of Bangkok.

Two days prior, a 24 year old Burmese migrant worker was crushed and killed by a fallen lamppost at a worker’s camp in the same province.

Last month, a crane collapsed and killed a Cambodian worker at a construction site in the Chatuchak district of Bangkok. Two more Cambodian workers were injured in the incident.

An under-construction building collapsed in Bangkok last month, sending more than 100 Burmese workers fleeing to safety. Five Burmese people were injured.