KUALA LUMPUR: More than 210 people were injured after two LRT trains collided in Kuala Lumpur on Monday (May 24) evening.
Videos and photos of the incident on social media showed broken glass panels and several commuters bleeding.
Federal Territories Minister Annuar Musa tweeted that early reports indicated that an LRT carrying passengers collided with another LRT that was “empty”, resulting in passengers being “thrown” and “falling”.
He added that the train with passengers was travelling from Ampang station.
“The incident happened underground of KLCC building. It is understood there are no deaths but there are those who are injured,” he wrote.
Operator for the Kelana Jaya Line, Rapid Rail, tweeted that there was an incident on the line, involving train numbers 40 and 81.
“All injured passengers have been evacuated to the platform. Emergency aid and rescue is ongoing,” the operator added.
In an interview, Kuala Lumpur Fire and Rescue Department chief Nordin Md Pauzi confirmed that 47 passengers were seriously injured while 166 people suffered light injuries.
Dang Wangi OCPD Assistant Commissioner Mohamad Zainal Abdullah added that the incident may have occurred “due to a miscommunication at the operations centre” of the LRT line.
“It is learnt that one train, heading from the Kampung Baru station to Gombak, was reportedly being test-driven following a fault to ensure it was on the right track,” he said.
“The train to Gombak that was being driven automatically was carrying 213 passengers while the train from the Kampung Baru Station to Gombak that was faulty, with the exception of its driver, was empty.”
“We will investigate further if the cause of the breakdown is … the result of carelessness or something else, because it involves public safety and many people were injured,” he said.
COLLISION IS THE FIRST ACCIDENT IN 23 YEARS
Speaking to journalists, Transport Minister Wee Ka Siong noted that the collision is the first accident in 23 years of LRT operations in Malaysia.
He said the ministry would establish a task force and a panel to investigate the cause of the accident.
“Tomorrow, the director-general of the Land Public Transport Agency will present the initial report to me.
“And in two weeks, this task force will present the investigation report to me. In two weeks we will be able to identify (whether the accident) is caused by error in the system, signalling or communication, or human error,” he said.
Writing on Twitter, Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin said the accident was a “serious” one. He said that he has instructed the Transport Ministry and the rail company Prasarana Malaysia to conduct a “full investigation to identify the cause of the accident”. He added that “stern action will be taken immediately”.
Mr Muhyiddin also said that priority must now be given to passengers who were injured. He said the relevant parties have been instructed to ensure that those who were injured will receive “full treatment”.
