2 SMRT staff die on track near Pasir Ris station
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2 SMRT staff die on track near Pasir Ris station; service on part of East-West line suspended
SINGAPORE - Two SMRT maintenance staff were killed in an accident along the train track near Pasir Ris MRT station on Tuesday (March 22) morning, with train services on the East-West Line between Tanah Merah and Pasir Ris stations suspended temporarily.
Mr Patrick Nathan, SMRT's vice-president for corporate information and communications, said in a statement that the accident occurred at around 11.10am near a servicing point.
"The Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) was immediately activated and they have confirmed that the two SMRT staff have passed away. We convey our deepest condolences to their families and will be providing support to them at this very difficult time," Mr Nathan added.
"We are working with the police to conduct a detailed investigation into this accident."The rail operator first tweeted about the track incident at 11.20am.
It said service was expected to resume at 12.15pm, which was subsequently revised to 12.30pm.
Private tutor Kay Tan, who was walking past Pasir Ris station on the way home, said she saw close to 20 SCDF and police officers, as well as SMRT staff, gathered on the tracks near a train, which had stopped just outside the station.
"I'm not sure if it was the head or tail-end of the train, but they appeared to be trying to extricate something from underneath it," said the 25-year-old.
A photo tweeted by user Pinch showed train passengers walking on the tracks in the direction of the station.
Beautiful day for a walk, don't you think? #SMRT #PasirRis (@ Pasir Ris MRT Station (EW1)) https://t.co/grcA1uqUaB pic.twitter.com/sz2Q7S6CeR
— Pinch (@iampinch) March 22, 2016
SMRT said in a later tweet at 11.30am that regular bus services between the two stations have been made free.
Free shuttle bus services were also available to ferry affected passengers.
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SMRT accident: Pasir Ris station closed, staff telling commuters to take bus instead http://str.sg/ZthQ
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SMRT accident: Bodies of the 2 staff members killed have been removed from the track
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SMRT staff killed in accident were Nasrulhudin Najumudin, 26, and Muhammad Asyraf Ahmad Buhari, 24
The two SMRT staff had joined company in January 2016, were undergoing training at time of accident
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SMRT says they were part of team moving in single file on walkway beside track, on way to investigate reported alarm at signalling equipment
2 SMRT staff are believed to have been hit by oncoming train
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Sad to hear about this news! RIP to both men. Convey the hearty condolences to thier families! May god give you enough strenght to overcome this demise news.. :-(
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Cham...
what the hell are ppl doing on the track when the train is operating???
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This is really sad. How did this happen?
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RIP
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they were walking along the side
but dunno how come get into the way of the oncoming train
the guy in front of them no kena
http://www.tnp.sg/news/singapore-news/tragedy-pasir-ris-it-not-known-how-men-got-track
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An open letter to SMRT, reportedly written by a relative of one of the two men killed in the train tragedy near Pasir Ris MRT station on Tuesday is questioning the safety procedures of the train operator and its response to the tragedy.
The letter was posted on the website of student publication The Kent Ridge Common on Wednesday. The letter was also posted on The Kent Ridge Common’s Facebook page, where it has been shared over 2,500 times.
The letter writer, who did not identify himself or herself, says the two staff, Muhammad Asyraf Ahmad Buhari, 24, and Nasrulhudin Najumudin, 26, “followed your (SMRT) orders only to be betrayed”.
He or she added, “What we resent are your attempts to clear yourselves of any fault, insisting that you have observed all the standard operating procedures. If you did everything right, then your standard operating procedures must be flimsy.”
The two men, who were trainee staff, were hit by a train as they were about to conduct maintenance on a point machine located 200m away from Pasir Ris station. They had joined the company in January this year.
SMRT has said that it will review its safety protocols and will support the police and the Ministry of Manpower in their investigations.
As of early Wednesday, SMRT changed its Facebook profile photo to a black and white version of its logo.
The letter writer added, “Instead of being so quick to protect your interests, seek the humanity deep within you to acknowledge your mistakes and learn from them to ensure that this tragedy does not happen to any one else’s son. Will you take responsibility? Or will your public relations team continue to craft words to protect you from blame?
“At this point, the families are grieving at the loss of a beloved. But grief will soon turn into anger.”
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Over 350 friends and family attend funerals of SMRT staff killed in accident http://bit.ly/1UaN3RX
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Manpower ministry issues interim safety instructions to SMRT following death of 2 employees http://str.sg/ZvGf
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SMRT are reviewing and improving the safety of their staffs to prevent such tradegy from happening again.
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Safety lapse led to death of trainees http://ebx.sh/1QxPoPm
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Ok, now we know that there is a safety lapse...
BUT the question is, WHY is there a safety lapse?
WHO is responsible?
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any harakiri?
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Harakiri khaw sibei jialat...
ytd was op sia...
I think today he can go do another $8 heart surgery or something liao...
