MANILA – Operations of MRT3 were briefly interrupted Sunday morning after a coach on the northbound train caught fire as it passed Nepa Q-Mart in Quezon City along EDSA, prompting evacuation of passengers.
The coach where fire was first detected underneath was finally moved to the depot a little past 11 a.m., and the provisional service put in place by authorities – with only the Taft Avenue to Shaw Boulevard segment of the northbound route allowed to run – was ended at 11:12 a.m., radio reports said.
It was not clear if anyone was hurt during the rush to exit the coach that caught fire, according to a report by DZBB, quoting authorities on the scene from the Quezon City Police Department.
The passengers first noticed smoke rising from beneath a segment of one train as it was about 1 kilometer away from the MRT’s Kamuning Station, reports said.
Right after the incident, the Department of Transportation ordered a halt to the light rail service as a precaution, allowing only the Taft Avenue-Shaw Boulevard segment on the northbound route to be serviced.
As of 11:12 a.m., however, full service was allowed to resume on the northbound route, according to DOTr Undersecretary for Rails Cesar Chavez.
