This is the dramatic moment a footbridge in Thailand collapsed onto trucks, killing one driver and critically injuring another.

The pedestrian overpass crashed down when it was struck by a lorry with its tipper bed raised on Debaratna Road in Samut Prakan, on December 18.

Dashcam footage shows the 52ft (16m) concrete beam plunging onto the busy highway below. A construction truck and a pickup transporting crates of eggs were crushed beneath the falling structure.

Police rushed to the scene at around 9:30 am local time, where they found both vehicles buried under rubble.

Pickup driver Sangwian Mekkhiao, 59, was found dead while trucker, Luechai Buaphian, 65, was seriously wounded and trapped inside the cabin of his Hino 18-wheeler.

His daughter, Wipha, was seen crying as rescue teams lifted debris off the vehicle.

Emergency responders spent two hours extracting him before rushing him to a nearby hospital.

Police Lieutenant Anuphan Khonpraphan of the Bang Phli Noi station said: ‘We inspected dashcam footage and found that the trailer truck had its dump box raised, causing it to strike the overpass beam and crush both vehicles.

‘Investigators will determine whether the incident was caused by negligence or a vehicle malfunction before proceeding with legal action.

‘Officers are urgently removing the beam and the two vehicles to reopen the road, which is expected to take several hours.'

Piyapong Jiwattanakulpaisarn, director-general of the Department of Highways, said the bridge was designed to bear vertical loads, but the structure could not withstand the lateral force of the crash.

The initial construction cost of the overpass was approximately 10 million baht (238,209 GBP).

Civil engineers were assessing the damage to see if the bridge needed to be demolished.

Authorities said normal traffic flow was restored at 3 pm.

Samut Prakan Police Commander Siam Sirimongkol has ordered the arrest of the injured truck driver for legal action.

Despite being one of the wealthiest countries in Asia, Thailand suffers from chronic underinvestment in its highways and education, contributing to its poor road safety levels. Only a handful of African countries are worse.

Thailand has one of the world's worst road safety records. Ministers have set the goal of reducing fatalities from 32.7 deaths per 100,000 people to 12 per 100,000 people by the year 2027.