KUALA LUMPUR – The light rail transit (LRT) operators involved in last night’s collision have been suspended from their duties, said Transport Minister Datuk Seri Wee Ka Siong.
He said they are suspended pending a full investigation into the incident, in line with standard operating procedures (SOPs) set by the ministry.
“We have SOPs. Any party, which is in public transport, involved will not be allowed to handle operations and this applies to all. We have to investigate this from all angles,” he told a press conference after visiting victims of last night’s train collision at Kuala Lumpur Hospital (HKL) this evening.
Wee said all information gathered will be given to the task force to study the incident from every angle, including technicalities, systematic problems or other possibilities.
He added that the empty Train 40 had a faulty component, which left no choice but for operators to manually override its carriages to be sent to a depot for repairs.
“That is the usual method that is used. Whether it was a system, technical or human error, let the investigating task force find out until we can obtain the answers.”
He said although all trains were handled automatically, yesterday’s incident occurred due to a technical error that required a manual override of Train 40.
“When there is a technical error, this train needs to be hauled (back to depot) manually. So, a driver (hostler) had manually brought it back to the depot.
“The other train, number 81 and carrying passengers, came from the opposite direction, meaning it was a head-on collision.”
He said a report will be done in 14 days from the day of the incident, which he will present to the cabinet, adding that this will help the authorities formulate contingencies to avoid similar incidents in the future.
Also present were Federal Territories Minister Datuk Seri Annuar Musa and HKL director Datuk Dr Heric Corray.
Earlier in the press conference, Dr Herric said the three critically injured passengers admitted to the hospital's intensive care unit have cerebral haemorrhage and are intubated.
He said two of them required surgery while one required cerebral resuscitation.
“The three of them are in very critical condition. Two have broken bones, whereby one victim was admitted to a ward and another who sustained broken bones and is still in the emergency department is waiting to be sent to the orthopaedic (department). One more is in the critical ward.”
He said a total of 67 people were sent to HKL yesterday, of which 61 are Malaysians and the rest foreigners.
Dr Herric added that three of the foreigners were Indonesians, one was a Filipino, one Iranian, while the citizenship of another was unknown.
He said 61 patients had received treatment and were discharged from the emergency department to other departments.
A total of 39 of the injured only experienced soft tissue injuries and have been treated, he said, adding that 300 HKL staffers had provided treatment to the wounded. – The Vibes, May 25, 2021
