A grieving wife was left in tears as she retrieved her German husband killed in the train tragedy in Thailand.

Thai spouse Taew, 63, was inconsolable as she brought home the body of her husband, Friedrich Wilhelm, 78, from a hospital in Nakhon Ratchasima, on January 18.

Friedrich was among dozens killed when a crane collapsed onto a train during a high-speed railway construction on January 14.

Accompanied by her family, Taew travelled from Surin to collect Friedrich for his funeral. Officials allowed the family to open the coffin to verify Wilhelm's identity before taking him away.

Footage shows the emotional wife crying as she was wheeled out of the hospital on a wheelchair. She and her relatives offered incense as they prayed for the deceased.

Friedrich's body will remain at her home as the family waits for his daughter to arrive from Germany.

The husband was among hundreds riding a train from the capital Bangkok to Nakhon Ratchasima province when a construction crane crashed onto the tracks on January 14.

The heavy equipment had been working on the concrete supports for a high-speed rail line running above the existing route.

Officials confirmed 32 passengers had been killed and at least 66 others injured, with eight in a critical condition, in the crash in the Ban Thanon Khot district of Nakhon Ratchasima.

Holidaymakers Friedrich Wilhelm, from Germany, and Kim Yongho, from South Korea, were among the fatalities, which also included a one-year-old and an 85-year-old. Many tourists had left the train at earlier stops on the busy route.

The State Railway of Thailand said it would provide 40,000 baht in funeral expenses for each deceased victim and an additional 40,000 baht in compensation, along with assistance in transporting the bodies.

Police said the service involved was the Special Express Train No. 21 (Bangkok–Ubon Ratchathani), which had left the capital a few hours earlier.

Victims were taken to the Sikhio Hospital, Sung Noen Hospital, and Maharat Nakhon Ratchasima Hospital.

Just a day later, another crane collapsed along a road in Bangkok, killing two drivers.

Two pickup trucks were buried under the carnage of concrete slabs and metal. Paramedics pronounced Somphong Srisuk, 50, and Sarawut Wetchakarn, 41, dead at the scene near the Tha Chin River Bridge, on January 15.

Thai Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul said he would cancel the construction contracts involved and place the contractor, Italian-Thai Development Public Company Limited, on a blacklist.

Special committees have been formed to investigate both incidents, and a fact-finding report is expected within a week, he added.

Italian-Thai Development Public Company Limited was also previously involved in the collapse of the State Audit Office building in March 2025.