KUALA LUMPUR – Passengers on a Kelana Jaya Light Rail Transit Line train last night underwent a horrifying ordeal when it crashed into another train without commuters on board.
Afiq Luqman Mohd Baharudin, 27, said the accident saw commuters being flung about and falling to the floor.
“The accident, which happened in the tunnel near KLCC, resulted in many passengers, both seated and standing, to suffer injuries,” he told Bernama.
Prior to the collision, he said, the train had stopped for 15 minutes before it began moving again.
“We had moved for only a few seconds when the crash happened. The impact was so strong that I suffered injuries to the head, left leg and chest.”
Afiq Luqman said he and other passengers were aided by a security team and rushed to Kuala Lumpur Hospital for further treatment.
Some victims took to social media to share their harrowing experience.
Twitter user Lim Mahfudz posted videos and photos he recorded of the incident.
Describing it as a tragedy, he thanked God for sparing his life, adding that the crash felt like a nightmare.
He said some commuters sustained injuries from broken glass.
In the incident, 47 people were reported to be seriously injured, while 166 sustained light injuries, when the two trains, which were on the same track, collided underground near the KLCC station.
There were 213 passengers on board one train, which was moving on automated control without an operator, when it hit the second train, which was carrying only the operator.
Transport Minister Datuk Seri Wee Ka Siong yesterday said a special task force will be set up to investigate the accident.
He said the Land Public Transport Agency will provide a preliminary report on the incident to him today.
He said one train was moving at 40kph and the other at 60kph when they collided head-on.
The Fire and Rescue Department arrived soon after the crash occurred about 8.30pm.
Evacuation took some time as the underground tunnel path to the crash site was some 100m from the nearest open space.
Dang Wangi district police chief Mohamad Zainal Abdullah told reporters that the incident is being investigated under Section 201 of the Land Public Transport Act 2010 for a wilful act or omission endangering passengers.
In a statement this morning, LRT operator Prasarana Malaysia Bhd announced that the Kelana Jaya line was operating as normal since 6am using a single track and supported by a free shuttle bus service.
It said the line will operate with a train frequency of 10 minutes during peak hours and 30 minutes at other times, as well as at 50% reduced capacity, following the imposition of stricter measures under the third movement control order to contain Covid-19. – The Vibes, May 25, 2021
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