Several passengers were injured when the escalator at MRT-3’s Taft Avenue Station malfunctioned.
According to one of the injured passengers, Aya, the escalator suddenly stopped midway while passengers were going up, causing them to fall due to the impact. The incident occurred on March 8 at around 10 AM.
Photo: MRT-3/Facebook
Aya shared that she was with her best friend at that time, and they were on their way home from work.
“Pag-hinto ng MRT sa Taft, bumaba na kami ng train at pumila na sa escalator paakyat. Midway, biglang huminto yung escalator and humarap ako sa likod ko, mabilis yung pangyayari and sigawan lang narinig ko pagtapos (When the MRT stopped at Taft, we got off the train and lined up for the escalator going up. Midway, the escalator suddenly stopped. I turned around, and everything happened so fast, all I heard was people screaming),” she told WhenInManila.com.
“The next thing I remember po was checking my best friend kung okay lang ba siya. Di niya raw maigalaw yung left side bandang tuhod (The next thing I remember was checking on my best friend to see if she was okay. She said she couldn’t move the left side near her knee).”
Aya said she suffered a muscle strain and mentioned that one passenger was bleeding. They were taken to the emergency room at San Juan de Dios Hospital.
“Mayroon pang isang duguan, di ko alam ano nangyari specifically sa kanya pero tumatagas yung dugo sa kaliwang paa niya (There was another person bleeding. I don’t know specifically what happened to them, but blood was flowing from their left leg),” she continued.
In a Facebook post, Aya shared videos of the incident, showing passengers being transported by ambulance to the hospital. She also posted a photo of her and her best friend’s patient identification wristbands at the hospital.
“Everything’s a blur at the time, makes you appreciate adrenaline pero waking up after all this, lumalabas yung sakit ng katawan na di na-feel kahapon (Everything was a blur at the time, it makes you appreciate adrenaline. But waking up after all this, the body aches start to surface, ones I didn’t even feel yesterday),” she captioned her post.
“There were no deaths but there are multiple casualties. The escalator incident is a major concern since over thousands of people use it on a daily basis and should be maintained properly.”
Photo: Aya/Facebook
Aya revealed that they are currently awaiting compensation from MRT-3 for loss of income and moral damages.
“Binigyan kami ng listahan na need i-complete bago kami i-compensate sa mga araw na di kami nakapasok (We were given a list that we need to complete before we can be compensated for the days we were unable to report to work),” she noted.
“Sa medical po, yung nagastos sa ER [emergency room], yung insurance agent na nagbayad. Yung nireseta na gamot na binili namin na-reimburse na rin po kami pati follow-up check-up (For the medical expenses, the costs incurred in the ER [emergency room] were paid by the insurance agent. We were also reimbursed for the prescribed medications we purchased and the follow-up check-up),” she added.
Aya reiterated that the doctor advised them to rest for seven days to recover.
In a statement released on March 11, the MRT-3 emphasized that staff are actively repairing the escalator at Taft Avenue Station, citing a broken main drive chain as the cause of the malfunction.
“Nasira ang main drive chain ng nasabing escalator, dahilan ng pagmalfunction nito, kung saan ilang pasahero ang naapektuhan (The main drive chain of the said escalator broke, causing it to malfunction, which affected several passengers),” they stated.
MRT-3 General Manager Oscar Bongon apologized to the injured passengers and assured them that the agency would cover their medical check-up and workup costs.
“Tayo po ay humihingi ng paumanhin sa ating mga pasahero at in coordination na po sa mga naapektuhan noong insidente. Sa ngayon po ay tiniyak natin sa ating maintenance provider na tapusin itong repair works ngayong araw (We apologize to our passengers and are coordinating with those affected by the incident. As of now, we have instructed our maintenance provider to complete the repair works within the day),” he said.
The MRT-3 stressed that it recommended more frequent and extensive maintenance of the escalators to identify components that need replacement.
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