A JAPANESE businessman has been killed by a train on the infamous bridge over the River Kwai – while taking a selfie.
Haruhisa Saito, 52, was visiting the site with staff when he posed for pictures on Saturday morning.
The company boss was walking on the tracks and did not hear an oncoming train before it ploughed into him at the tourist spot in Kanchanaburi, western Thailand.
Witnesses said he was flung ‘like a doll’ over the side of the bridge onto the rocks five metres below.
Local food seller Lek Thahom said: “People were shouting and screaming after it happened. There was panic. They ran under the bridge to get to him.
“The train had been blowing the whistle to tell him to move but he didn’t hear. It hit him and he was flung over the side like a doll.
“Police came quickly then an ambulance took him away.
“There were hundreds or even a thousand people here on Saturday, it was a busy day as there was a Buddhist holiday on Friday. We think the noise made it hard for him to hear the train.
“There are no barriers and people can walk along the railway. The only warning is a sign that says ‘it is your own responsibility to be safe’.”
Mr Saito, the President of Silvec in Thailand, had taken employees to the tourist destination for a weekend away.
Visitors can walk along the tracks and there are no safety barriers.
Mr Saito was at the entrance of the bridge before it crosses the water.
The River Kwai bridge was built by British, Australian, American and Dutch prisoners of war caught by the Japanese in WWII.
More than 90,000 workers, including 6,904 British troops, died on the railway, which was built to link Bangkok in Thailand and Rangoon in Burma.
Their plight inspired hit film The Bridge on the River Kwai in 1957.
Police Lieutenant Wichai Srimuangthanachai said Mr Saito suffered broken ribs and head injuries after being struck by the train.
“He was treated at the scene before being taken to hospital,” he added.
