MACHANG, 3 March 2023
A fire broke out in a locomotive last night in Kelantan, but the 396 passengers on the Keretapi Tanah Melayu Bhd (KTMB) Ekspres Rakyat Timuran passenger train managed to avoid any injuries.
Tanah Merah Fire and Rescue Station chief Mohd Zulkifli Osman said the distress call was received at 10.36pm and two fire engines were sent from the Tanah Merah and Machang stations.
The train travelling from Tumpat to Johor Bahru caught fire near Taman Tasek Kiara and the fire was raging when the 14 rescue staff and fire trucks arrived at the scene.
Swinging into action, the fire was brought under control by 11pm and rescue personnel found the train driver as well as a canteen carriage employee suffered breathing difficulties. These two were sent to the Tanah Merah hospital for treatment.
While the fire was being extinguished, all train passengers were led out safely and were later sent to their destinations.
When the fire operation ended at 2am, senior operations commander Nurul Alfisyahrin Mohd Zaki said around 90% of the locomotive was found to have been destroyed in the blaze.