The collision between two trains in a subway tunnel in Kuala Lumpur, the capital of Malaysia, left at least 213 people injured, dozens of them seriously, yesterday evening. This is considered the worst of the subway accident in the country since the beginning of operations in 1996.
According to the local website “Free Malaysia Today”, at least 64 passengers with serious injuries were taken to Kuala Lumpur Hospital (HKL) for medical treatment. Of these, 43 received outpatient care, six are in critical condition and 15 are in semi-critical conditions.
Zainal Abdullah, head of the Dang Wangi police station, one of the main ones in the capital, said that a train – which was empty and operated by hand – collided head-on with a train carrying dozens of passengers around 8.45 pm (local time) from yesterday. Images released on social media showed several injured people fallen throughout the affected composition.
Abdullah explained to the “Free Malaysia Today” website that autonomous trains are operated through a control center, but due to a “communication problem”, one of them was unable to “detect” the arrival of the other train, causing the accident.
Malaysian Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin said on Facebook that he had asked to open an investigation into the case.
“I instructed the Minister of Transport and the operator (company responsible for the subway) to conduct a thorough investigation into the causes of the accident,” he said.
