SMRT employee’s right foot amputated after accident, Latest Singapore News - The New Paper
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SMRT employee’s right foot amputated after accident

This article is more than 12 months old

It was crushed after accident involving maintenance vehicle on MRT tracks

An SMRT worker had his right foot amputated yesterday after it was crushed in an accident involving a maintenance vehicle on the MRT tracks.

How the accident happened is unknown, but The Straits Times understands that the employee - a man in his late 50s - was injured by a track tamping vehicle, which is used to compact the ballast that supports the tracks. The accident occurred at about 4.10am near Joo Koon, said SMRT yesterday.

It delayed the start of train service on the East-West Line in both directions between the Gul Circle and Boon Lay stations by about an hour, till 6.20am.

The worker was conscious when taken to the National University Hospital in an ambulance, said the Singapore Civil Defence Force.

"Our staff's right foot was injured as he was on track preparing for an engineering vehicle to move back to the depot after completion of maintenance works this morning," said SMRT corporate communications vice-president Margaret Teo.

The man's two sons, who declined to be named, told The Straits Times their father is in a stable condition after an operation in the morning. He is warded in the hospital's intensive care unit.

They said their father could chat normally to family members and colleagues, but he was still in a state of shock and trying to understand what had happened on the tracks. The man is married with three adult children.

SMRT said it will carry out a full investigation into the accident and added that its maintenance teams observed a safety timeout yesterday morning.

The rail operator is providing the necessary care and support to its staff and his family, Ms Teo said.

When asked for details on how the accident occurred and what took place, SMRT declined to comment and would say only that investigations are ongoing.

Yesterday's accident is the most serious one of its kind since two SMRT trainees were killed by an oncoming train near Pasir Ris station in March 2016.

Yesterday, SMRT said its engineering and operations teams conducted further checks on the track after the injured worker was taken to hospital, before service between Gul Circle and Boon Lay was able to start.

In a Facebook post, National Transport Workers' Union (NTWU) executive secretary Melvin Yong said the union will be assisting the injured worker and his family. "We will be working closely with the company to investigate the cause of the incident and to review the necessary workplace safety measures," said the Tanjong Pagar GRC MP.

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