PAPAR: Some 110 passengers and three crew were trapped for three hours in a train following a landslide near a train tunnel, here, Monday night.
District Police Chief DSP Kamaruddin Ambo Sakka said the incident occurred at about 6.30pm when the exit point of the train tunnel near Pengalat Besar was sealed off by the landslide. The train was heading towards Beaufort then. A picture posted on State Railway Department’s social media page of the landslide that occurred near Papar Tunnel.
He said an operation to extricate the passengers was carried out by personnel from State Railway Department and assisted by police.
“The passengers were brought to Papar police station for documentation and medical inspection.
“Most of the passengers were from Papar while some from Beaufort. Some of the passengers from Beaufort were sent back to their homes with the help of Papar District Council while the others were picked up by their relatives,” he said. Kamaruddin
Kamaruddin also said the train coaches were pulled back to State Railway Department (Quarters and Workshop) station while the locomotive was removed from the scene after personnel completed clearing works.
On Monday, the State Railway Department issued a statement on social media stating that the train schedule for Tuesday would be disrupted due to the landslide at Papar Tunnel.
It also stated that five services on Tuesday would be cancelled from Sembulan to Beaufort.
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