SEVERED ARM OF MRT COMMUTER REATTACHED
Surgeons at the Makati Medical Center successfully reattached the arm of a female commuter 11 hours after it was severed when she fell onto the tracks of the Metro Rail Transit 3 (MRT3) Ayala Station in Makati City on Tuesday.
Surgeons at the Makati Medical Center successfully reattached the arm of a female commuter 11 hours after it was severed when she fell onto the tracks of the Metro Rail Transit 3 (MRT3) Ayala Station in Makati City on Tuesday.
Transportation Undersecretary for Rail Cesar Chavez said Angeline Fernando’s arm was reconnected to her body 3:46 a.m. yesterday as told by attending physicians and Angeline’s parents, Jose and Gloria.
“The bone, the nerve and vessels are reconnected. She is under observation at least until Friday,” said Chavez.
Citing the statements of the victim’s parents and friends, Chavez said Fernando often suffer dizziness when surrounded by a lot of people.
“Angeline would step out whenever we hear mass at a crowded church because she experience difficulty of breathing with many people around her,” said Chavez, quoting Mrs. Fernando.
Also, Chavez said a close friend of Angeline narrated that Angeline nearly collapsed when they were strolling in a Makati City mall.
“We rushed Angeline to the hospital and found out she has low blood pressure,” the friend told Chavez.
Chavez said the MRT3 will extend financial assistance for Fernando’s hospitalization and vowed to request help from other agencies.
Fernando, 24, is a resident of Pasay City and working as a senior quality engineer in a Makati-based information technology firm. She was on her way to work when she met the freak accident.
She was an SM Foundation scholar at the Asia Pacific College, where she finished Bachelor of Science in Information Technology.
Chavez personally spoke to Fernando inside the operating room of the Makati Medical Center and assured her of their help. “We will never leave you,” he told her.
The accident happened on Tuesday at about 2:30 p.m. at the northbound rail of the MRT3 Ayala Station.
Based on closed circuit television (CCTV) camera, Fernando alighted from the MRT train and walking on her way out. However, she lost balance and accidentally fell, with her right arm getting caught in between couplers connecting the first and second coaches.
Due to impact, Fernando’s arm was cut off near the armpit when it hit the couplers as the train sped off.
Emergency response personnel attended to Fernando who was conscious when rushed to the hospital.
Operations of the MRT went back to normal operations by 4 p.m.
Meanwhile, Senator Grace Poe, chair of the Senate committee on public services, said the accident may have been if there were passenger safety features on the train platform.
Poe has been calling for the modernization of the troubled rail system and improvement of public mass transport.
“What happened was a very unfortunate incident that could have been prevented with a passenger railing safety feature,” she said in a statement Wednesday.