183 Trapped In Monorail

ONE-HOUR ORDEAL: Train stalls after system detects traction control problem

Monorail passengers being evacuated with the help of the city Fire and Rescue Department personnel in Kuala Lumpur.

KUALA LUMPUR: THREE monorail passengers were sent to hospital after they and 180 others were trapped inside a stranded train in Brickfields here yesterday.

During the 2pm incident which lasted for about an hour, a pregnant woman fainted in the packed train while a man and another woman suffered minor cuts during the rescue operation.

Passengers had to break one of the windows for ventilation.

Brickfields police chief Assistant Commissioner Wan Abdul Bari Wan Abdul Khalid said the incident happened shortly after the RapidKL Sdn Bhd train left the Jalan Tun Sambanthan station.

"The city Fire and Rescue Department personnel arrived about 10 minutes after receiving a report, and initiated the evacuation process using the turntable ladder.

"They brought down 63 passengers while RapidKL sent a rescue train and transferred 120 others back to the station," he said, adding that the rescue operation ended at 4pm.

The injured victims were given medical treatment at the scene before they were sent to Kuala Lumpur Hospital.

All of them are reported to be in stable condition.

A tourist, known only as Matthew, 27, from England, said the situation was calm in the first 15 minutes, with some passengers chatting and laughing about the glitch.

"However, after 15 minutes, several passengers started panicking when they realised that the train was stuck. It was very hot inside. The train was packed, and several passengers started crying and said they could not breathe."

Norfarzana Rokib, 17, from Kajang, said a man then started hammering at a window and broke it to allow fresh air in.

Syarikat Prasarana Negara Berhad media manager Azhar Ghazali said the train came to a halt after its system detected traction control problem.

"When the problem was detected, the train automatically lost its primary and auxiliary power supply. This was a part of our safety procedure. When this happened, the train's air-conditioner was also turned off."

The monorail's operations resumed at 4.30pm.

Azhar said the incident was the first which saw a train-to-train evacuation since it started operations on Dec 31, 2003.

Source: http://www.nst.com.my

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