Prasarana pledges RM1,000 aid for all LRT collision victims

Prasarana Malaysia Bhd says it will provide appropriate aid to all passengers involved in the collision of two of its LRT trains in the tunnel between the Kampung Baru and KLCC stations last night.

Prasarana Group chairman Tajuddin Abdul Rahman said a total of 213 passengers were involved in the incident, 64 of whom were rushed to hospital with six currently in critical condition and three requiring respiratory support.

“Prasarana will give special aid of RM1,000 each to the 213 passengers irrespective of their condition, whether serious or not serious.

“Other than that, we will also provide special assistance for the 64 passengers who were admitted to hospital, including the cost of medication and treatment until they are fully recovered.

“InshaAllah we’ll give them medical support. They will also get financial assistance but the amount will depend on individual cases,” he said at a press conference today after visiting the location of the incident.

It was reported that the 8.45pm collision had caused severe injuries to 47 passengers, while 166 escaped with minor injuries.

Tajuddin said Prasarana would also provide livelihood assistance for victims who had lost their income as a result of the incident until they could return to work as usual.

He also assured that the train service would run as usual using unaffected trains while the two trains involved are being repaired.

He added that SOPs would be improved.

“We (Prasarana) are deeply saddened. This is a tragedy, an incident beyond our control. We are also ready to accept responsibility and apologise for what happened, but we’ll try our best to take care of everything, what is needed for the passengers and the public,” he said.

Prasarana in a statement asked passengers to contact the company as soon as possible at 014-737 1330 or [email protected] to expedite the payment of the special assistance.

It also assured of its full cooperation with the special task force led by transport ministry secretary-general Isham Ishak and his team who are investigating the incident.

“Prasarana will also cooperate with the police in their investigation into the case under Section 201 of the Land Transport Act 2010,” the statement said.

Yesterday, Transport Minister Wee Ka Siong said the ministry would set up a special task force to investigate the cause of the crash. He said the results of the investigation were expected to be presented to the ministry in two weeks’ time.

Wee also said this was the first such incident involving LRT trains throughout their 23 years of operation in the country.