Social media posts on deadly crane collapse in Thailand share AI-generated image
At least 32 people were killed by a crane that collapsed over a passenger train in Thailand in January 2026. An image spread online with a false claim it showed the wreckage from the accident. However, it was generated by artificial intelligence (AI) and contains visual inconsistencies.
“May the souls of the 22 rest in peace and reach a peaceful afterlife,” reads a Thai-language Facebook post on January 14.
It shares an image showing a severe train accident with mangled carriages, and several white sheets on the railway track.
Screenshot of the false Facebook post taken on January 16, 2026 with a red X added by AFP
It circulated after a construction crane used for assembling a high-speed rail bridge collapsed onto a passing passenger train in northeastern Nakhon Ratchasima province on January 14, killing at least 32 people and injuring 66 others (archived link).
The bridge is part of a $5 billion high-speed rail project built with Chinese support. Its contractor — Italian-Thai Development — is one of Thailand’s biggest construction firms, but it has seen several deadly accidents at its sites in recent years.
The company and its director were among more than 20 people and firms indicted in 2025 in a case linked to the collapse of a Bangkok high-rise in an earthquake. The collapse killed around 90 people, mostly construction workers.
The same image has also spread elsewhere on Facebook and on other platforms, including TikTok and Instagram. It was also featured in an article published by Taiwanese online news site CTWANT.
But it is not an authentic photo from the accident.
AI-generated image
A reverse image search on Google found it was labelled as “Made with Google AI” in its “About this image” feature.
An analysis using Google’s SynthID detector, a tool designed to identify AI-generated content, indicated a “very high” degree of confidence that it was created using the platform’s AI tools (archived link).
Screenshot of the results from the SynthID tool
A visual comparison between the AI-generated image and AFP photographs from the crash site shows multiple inconsistencies.
Local media reported the train in the incident was the Special Express Train No. 21, travelling from Bangkok to Ubon Ratchathani (archived here and here).
In the AI-generated image, a door can be seen in the middle of the train carriage, which is not present on the model of the train that ran the service (archived link).
Screenshot comparison between the AI-generated image (left) and a photo taken by an AFP photographer at the scene, with red rectangles added by AFP to highlight key elements
Screenshot comparison between the AI-generated image (left) and a photo taken by an AFP photographer at the scene, with red rectangles added by AFP to highlight key elements
The arrangement of bodies covered by white cloth laid on the tracks seen in the fabricated image also does not match the photos taken at the scene.
An AFP journalist at the scene confirmed that bodies were not placed on the tracks as shown in the AI-generated image.
Screenshot of a photo taken at the scene by AFP
The State Railway of Thailand did not reply to a request for comment at the time of publication.
Thai PBS Verify also published a report debunking the image (archived link).
AFP has previously debunked similar posts sharing AI-generated images on disasters and conflicts.
