Man Dies After Flyover Collapse and Blood Transfusion Error in Samut Sakhon
A 46-year-old man, Amnat Thongkham, has died after being struck by falling concrete from a deteriorating flyover on Rama II Road in Samut Sakhon province, with further tragedy unfolding as the hospital admitted to a blood transfusion error during his treatment.
The accident occurred on Tuesday morning, when two large chunks of concrete fell from the 30-year-old Mahachai-Krathumbaen flyover, severely injuring Amnat. He succumbed to his injuries—a ruptured liver and internal bleeding—at Samut Sakhon Hospital later that night.
On Friday, Dr. Thanakrit Jitareerat, assistant to the Public Health Minister, confirmed that hospital staff mistakenly administered blood type A instead of the patient’s actual type B. Under emergency protocol, type O blood—universally compatible—should have been used, but due to a shortage, staff initially turned to type B, which was then mislabeled as type A in the laboratory.
“This is a serious procedural failure,” Dr. Thanakrit stated. “However, our immediate priority is to investigate the structural failure that caused the accident before fully addressing the medical error.”
Amnat had been transferred between three hospitals—Mahachai Hospital, Vibharam Samut Sakhon Hospital, and finally Samut Sakhon Hospital—during the emergency response.
The tragedy highlights long-standing safety concerns around the delayed intercity expressway construction project, which has seen multiple accidents in recent years. Just weeks earlier, on April 4, another pickup truck driver was injured when a crane collapsed on the same road.
Authorities are now under pressure to investigate both the infrastructure negligence and the medical malpractice that contributed to Amnat’s death.
