28 INJURED IN SINGAPORE MRT TRAIN COLLISION
Many passengers thrown to the floor
TWENTY-EIGHT people were injured in a collision involving two trains at the Joo Koon Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) station near Tuas, here during the morning rush hour yesterday.
The 8.20am incident occurred when a stalled train on the EastWest Line was hit by a second train, which initially was in a stationary position.
SMRT Corp Ltd said the second train abruptly moved and collided with the train in front of it.
“This morning (yesterday) about 8.18am, a train heading in the direction of Tuas Link Station stalled at Joo Koon Station. At 8.19am, a second train stopped behind the faulty train.
“At 8.20am, the second train moved forward unexpectedly and came into contact with the first train.
“Twenty-three passengers and two SMRT staff sustained light to moderate injuries, and have been sent to Ng Teng Fong Hospital and National University Hospital. SMRT and Land Transport Authority (LTA) are investigating the incident,” said SMRT Corp yesterday.
Three other victims were later sent to the same hospital.
The cause of the collision is yet to be known. However, transport experts in Singapore told media in the republic that a possible malfunction or even a “bug” in the train’s signalling system software may have contributed to the accident.
Photos uploaded by witnesses online showed no apparent damage to both trains.
But a few first-hand accounts of the incident claimed that the impact of the collision caused many passengers to fall down.
SMRT Corp said it temporarily suspended services between Boon Lay and Tuas Link stations beginning 2pm yesterday.
However, its services for other routes were not affected.
“Free bus and bridging bus services are available between Boon Lay and Tuas Link,” it said.
A spokesman for Ng Teng Fong General Hospital said 13 of the injured people were getting treatment at the hospital.
Two of them sustained serious injuries and were being monitored for “major emergencies”, such as limb fractures and joint dislocation.
The remaining 11 sustained minor injuries like sprains and light head injuries.
Ng Teng Fong General Hospital senior manager for communication Aaron Loh said the patients were being assessed and their details were being coordinated with the authorities such as the Singapore Ministry of Transport.
“The identities and nationalities of the patients have not been determined.”
The incident was only the second major MRT accident to have occurred in the MRT’s 30-year history.
The last time Singapore MRT trains collided was on Aug 5, 1993 when two trains at the Clementi Station collided and injured 156 commuters.
An independent inquiry panel had later found that the accident was caused by a 50L oil spill from a maintenance locomotive, which had been carrying out maintenance along the MRT track hours before the collision.
Commuters yesterday recalled being thrown to the floor when the two trains collided.
Service coordinator Alexandru Robu, 35, said he was on the westbound train on the East-West Line when it collided with a stalled train.
He said many passengers lost their balance and fell on the floor.
“I’ve experienced sudden stops before on the MRT, but this time it was really bad,” Robu told Singapore’s The Straits Times.
He said most of the passengers, including him, were thrown to the floor, but he was unhurt.
He said he saw another passenger, in his 30s, lying on the floor even when other passengers were standing.
“I went up to him and apparently he had hit his head and had a back injury.
“So, I held his hand and talked to him,” he said.
Robu said the train remained at the same position for 20 minutes. Other passengers asked SMRT staff to open the doors of the first coach to allow them to exit to the platform.
He said the injured man was helped by three other commuters. He was put in a wheelchair and taken away in an ambulance.
Another commuter Eddy Ong, 43, said the train was moving slowly as it approached the Joo Koon Station.
“When it was nearing the station, we heard a loud bang and everyone who was standing was thrown to the ground,” he told the Today newspaper.
Ong said some passengers hit against railings in the train.
He sustained bruises on his left knee and arm.
“A while later, as I was in the first cabin, we heard some passengers knocking on the driver’s door to tell the driver (that) someone was injured.
“The driver said on the speaker system that help was on the way,” said Ong.