Man with terminal cancer killed by train in Kanchanaburi

A 54 year old man in the final stage of tracheal cancer was tragically killed after being run over by a train in Kanchanaburi’s Muang district. The incident occurred yesterday afternoon when the man, identified as Suparp, lay down on the tracks near a railway station with a cloth covering his face.

Police Captain Thammarat Sukhiwong, a Muang police investigator, reported that the accident took place around 5.30pm, shortly after train 259 (Thon Buri-Nam Tok) left Wang Yen railway station in tambon Wang Yen, heading towards Nam Tok station. The train driver, whose identity remains undisclosed, told authorities that the train was still in the process of accelerating when he spotted the man lying on the tracks in front of him. Although he applied the brakes immediately, the driver was unable to stop the train in time, resulting in the train running over Suparp and sadly cutting him in half.

Suparp’s younger sister informed authorities that her brother, who was suffering from the final stages of windpipe cancer, resided in a house approximately 200 metres from the railway. Due to his condition, Suparp was unable to eat properly and had to be tube-fed. In the past, he had attempted to take his own life by inserting a finger into an electrical socket.

On that fateful day, after receiving his tube-feeding, Suparp left his family home on a bicycle, marking the last time his relatives saw him alive. His body was later discovered on the tracks, having been run over by the train. The police have launched an investigation into the incident, with initial evidence suggesting that Suparp may have chosen to end his life in this tragic manner.

A couple of days ago, a railway station officer in Surat Thani province saved the life of a hearing-impaired elderly woman as she tries to cross the tracks in the path of an oncoming train.