Thirty-four people were injured when two trains of the Light Rail Transit Line 2 (LRT-2) collided Saturday night between Cubao and Anonas stations in Quezon City.
The Light Rail Transit Authority (LRTA) said 30 of those injured are passengers while four are train personnel. They were rushed to World City Medical Center, Amang Rodriguez Medical Center, Quirino Memorial Medical Center, and Manila Medical Center.
Based on the report Department of Transportation (DOTr), 29 passengers were immediately released after being treated of minor injuries while five others were still confined at the World Citi Medical Center and Quirino Medical Center as of Sunday morning.
In a news forum, LRTA Administrator Gen. Reynaldo Berroya said the collision happened at about 9:51 p.m.
He said that train set No. 13, considered as a “dead train”, was parked on the pocket track between the said stations, but for unknown reason it suddenly moved and entered the tracks being traversed by Santolan-bound train set No. 18, causing the collision. Some of the debris from the collision fell on the street below.
Lawyer Hernando Cabrera, LRTA spokesperson, explained that the pocket track is an emergency bay where damaged trains are parked.
The LRTA said it plans to commend the driver of the train for attending to the injured passengers until the rescuers arrive.
The LRTA has assured it would shoulder the medical expenses of the victims and provide them the necessary assistance.
Transportation Secretary Arthur Tugade, Transportation Undersecretary for Railways Timothy John Batan, Berroya and other LRTA officials visited the injured passengers and LRT-2 employees at the hospitals on Saturday night.
The incident was an isolated case, the LRTA said in a statement, adding that it was the first to occur since LRT-2 began operations in 2003.
Berroya ordered the creation of a fact-finding committee that would investigate the cause of the collision, make recommendations to prevent similar incidents, and assess the response and actions taken by the LRTA.
“We apologize for this unfortunate incident and rest assured that the LRTA will seriously look into it,” he added.
Normal operations of LRT-2 resumed at 10:47 a.m. on Sunday. (May Ann Santiago, Fer Taboy, & PNA)
