Friend Recalls the Moment He Learned About 'Tan,' the Train Collision Victim: Final Conversation Revealed
A 33-year-old Bangkok employee and train-bus collision victim at Makkasan railway crossing was farewelled by grieving family and friends at a forensic institute on May 20. His close friend recalled their last conversation hours before the a
At 10:00 a.m. on May 20, 2025, at the Police Hospital Institute of Forensic Medicine, the family of Teeghaa 'Tan' Teeghaautamakorn, 33, a private sector employee and one of the victims of the train collision with Bus Route 206 at the Makkasan-Asok-Din Daeng railway crossing, came to process documents to claim his body for a merit-making ceremony at Trimitr Temple in Bangkok. The atmosphere was filled with grief, with close friends and loved ones continuously arriving to offer support to the family.
Yanin, Tan's close friend, shared that he had known and been close to Tan since their school days at Suan Kulab College. Both were students from out of province who came to study in Bangkok together, living their school years side by side. They would visit each other regularly, sometimes even sleeping over at Tan's house so they could travel to school together in the morning, since Yanin had to leave home before dawn.
Tan was a cheerful person with a good nature, beloved by many friends—both from his Suan Kulab Class 128 group and from his school and work days abroad, particularly during his time living in Australia. Everywhere he went, people loved and remembered him. No one disliked or didn't care for him.
On the day of the incident, Yanin initially had no idea what had happened. While at work, he saw news of an accident but never thought it involved his friend. Around 11:00 p.m., Tan's father called, but Yanin didn't answer because he had gone to bed early. When he woke around 4:00 a.m., he saw a message saying, "If you're awake, call back urgently. Tan had an accident," which shocked him deeply.
Just hours before the incident, Yanin had joked with Tan and his family as usual about lottery numbers, as that day was a lottery drawing. Yanin had won with numbers that Tan's father had given him, and Tan and his father were congratulating him. No one could have imagined this would be their last conversation with Tan.
After learning the news, friends tried to piece together a timeline. On the day of the incident, Tan had plans to meet a foreign friend in the Srinakarin area. Before leaving home, he had discussed travel plans with his parents about whether to use the BTS Skytrain or Airport Rail Link for convenience. His mother dropped him at the station, and Tan waved goodbye to his parents, saying, "See you tonight."
However, when the evening meeting time came, friends couldn't reach him, attempting phone calls continuously from 4:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. They began to suspect that Tan might have decided to take a regular bus, as he typically enjoyed riding buses to rest or sleep during travel. They later learned he had been on Bus Route 206—the bus that was struck by the train.
This tragedy is considered a cruel and unforeseen loss, highlighting that railway crossings of this type should have stricter preventive measures. While no one can definitively determine whose error caused the accident—whether human or otherwise—the incident raises serious questions about safety protocols.
