KUALA LUMPUR: Passengers on a Kelana Jaya line Light Rail Transit (LRT) train on Monday (May 24) faced a harrowing moment when they were flung by the impact of its collision with another train.
Passenger Afiq Luqman Mohd Baharudin, 27, said the impact of the collision saw everyone being flung 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 said when contacted.
Aliq Luqman said that before the accident, the train had stopped for 15 minutes before moving again.
“We had only moved for a few seconds when the crash happened and the impact was so strong that I suffered injuries to my head, left leg and chest,” he said.
Afiq Luqman said he and the other passengers were helped out by the security team and rushed to the Kuala Lumpur General Hospital for further treatment.
Meanwhile, some victims took to social media to share their personal experiences of the crash.
Twitter user Lim Mahfudz was one of those who shared videos and photos of the incident, which he had recorded.
Describing the incident as a tragedy, he tweeted that he was all right and thanked God for saving his life, adding that the whole thing felt like a nightmare.
He said some passengers were also injured by the train’s broken glass panels while some were tossed around as the train stopped suddenly (when it hit the emergency brakes).
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.
Malaysian civil defence officers evacuating injured commuters following a collision between two LRT trains. (Photo: Twitter/Bernama)
Malaysian fire and rescue personnel evacuating injured commuters following a collision between two LRT trains. (Photo: Twitter/Bernama)
"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.
Malaysian fire and rescue personnel evacuating injured commuters following a collision between two LRT trains. (Photo: Twitter/Bernama)
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.
"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.
Malaysian fire and rescue personnel evacuating injured commuters following a collision between two LRT trains. (Photo: Twitter/Bernama)
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, signaling 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".
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.
Malaysian civil defence officers evacuating injured commuters following a collision between two LRT trains. (Photo: Twitter/Bernama)
Malaysian fire and rescue personnel evacuating injured commuters following a collision between two LRT trains. (Photo: Twitter/Bernama)
"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.
Malaysian fire and rescue personnel evacuating injured commuters following a collision between two LRT trains. (Photo: Twitter/Bernama)
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.
"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.
Malaysian fire and rescue personnel evacuating injured commuters following a collision between two LRT trains. (Photo: Twitter/Bernama)
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, signaling 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".
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.
Malaysian civil defence officers evacuating injured commuters following a collision between two LRT trains. (Photo: Twitter/Bernama)
Malaysian fire and rescue personnel evacuating injured commuters following a collision between two LRT trains. (Photo: Twitter/Bernama)
"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, AskRapidKL, tweeted that there was an incident on the line, involving train numbers 40 and 81.
"All injured passengers have been evacuated to platform. Emergency aid and rescue is ongoing," the operator added.
In an interview with media, Kuala Lumpur Fire and Rescue Department chief Nordin Md Pauzi confirmed that 47 passengers were seriously injured while 166 people suffered light injuries.
Malaysian fire and rescue personnel evacuating injured commuters following a collision between two LRT trains. (Photo: Twitter/Bernama)
Malaysian fire and rescue personnel evacuating injured commuters following a collision between two LRT trains. (Photo: Twitter/Bernama)
Dang Wangi OCPD Assistant Commissioner Mohamad Zainal added that the incident may have occurred "due to a miscommunication at the operations centre" of the LRT line.
"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.
He added that that the train carrying passengers was operated manually by a driver but the oncoming empty train was operated automatically.
KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia on Monday (May 24) said it was investigating allegations that some recipients of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine were not injected with the correct dosage.
At least two recipients have said in recent days that they were given less than the required amount, posting videos on social media of the jab being administered to support their claim.
The health ministry did not say whether the recipients of the vaccines were underdosed, but said it took serious note of the allegations and announced new rules for medical personnel administering the jab.
The injector should show the syringe filled with the right amount of vaccine to the recipient before the jab and the emptied one after, the ministry said.
About 2 million people in Malaysia have received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine so far. The government is aiming to achieve herd immunity among the country's 32 million people by the end of the year.
Critics have said the inoculation programme is slow.
The allegations of underdosing come as Malaysia fights a spike in COVID-19 infections that has seen restrictions tightened and new records set for infections and death numbers.
It reported 6,509 cases on Monday, close to a record-high toll of 6,976 reported the previous day, and 61 new deaths - the highest number of fatalities in a day. It has recorded 518,600 coronavirus cases overall.
GENEVA: At least 115,000 healthcare workers have died from COVID-19 since the beginning of the pandemic, the World Health Organization's (WHO) chief said on Monday (May 24), calling for a dramatic scale-up of vaccination in all countries.
At the opening of the WHO's main annual assembly, Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus hailed the sacrifices made by healthcare workers around the world to battle the pandemic.
"For almost 18 months, health and care workers all over the world have stood in the breach between life and death," he said.
"They have saved countless lives and fought for others who, despite their best efforts, slipped away.
"Many have themselves become infected, and while reporting is scant, we estimate that at least 115,000 health and care workers have paid the ultimate price in the service of others."
He said since the start of the crisis, many healthcare workers have felt "frustrated, helpless and unprotected, with a lack of access to personal protective equipment and vaccines".
And they are not alone. He described the overall inequity in access to vaccines as "scandalous", warning it was "perpetuating the pandemic".
More than 75 per cent of all COVID-19 vaccines have gone to just 10 countries.
"The number of doses administered globally so far would have been enough to cover all health workers and older people if they had been distributed equitably," he said.
"There is no diplomatic way to say it: That small group of countries that make and buy the majority of the world's vaccines control the fate of the rest of the world."
He urged those countries that have large stocks of vaccines to share them, and greater cooperation to scale up production and distribution of the jabs.
The WHO and others have created COVAX, a global vaccine-sharing programme, but it remains severely underfunded and has faced significant supply shortages, delaying efforts to roll out jabs in poorer countries.
"We have shipped every single one of the 72 million doses we have been able to get our hands on so far to 125 countries and economies," Tedros said.
But he lamented that those doses were only enough to barely cover 1 per cent of the combined populations in those countries.
The WHO chief stressed the need to urgently fix the imbalance.
"Today, I'm calling on member states to support a massive push to vaccinate at least 10 per cent of the population of every country by September," he said, calling for the coverage to be expanded to 30 per cent by the end of the year.
