2 SMRT staff killed in accident: Witnesses living near MRT station recount heart-stopping moments before tragedy
Mr Nasrulhudin (inset, left) and Mr Asyraf (inset, right) were in a team of 15 on a walkway beside the eastbound tracks, about 150m from the platform at Pasir Ris MRT station, when tragedy struck. -- PHOTO: The Straits Times, Facebook
Residents living near Pasir Ris MRT station described what they saw and heard just moments before the two SMRT employees were hit and killed by an oncoming train yesterday (Mar 22).
Several Stompers had contributed photos of the incident, which took place at around 11.10am yesterday. We also reported live from the scene.
Singaporeans, Nasrulhudin Najumudin, 26 and Muhammad Asyraf Ahmad Buhari, 24, were apparently undergoing on-the-job training when the fatal accident happened.
They were part of a technical team -- which also consisted of 13 others -- that went down to the track to investigate a reported alarm from a condition monitoring device for signalling equipment.
Two witnesses recounted the tragedy to The New Paper.
Mrs Tandra Haldei, who lives opposite Pasir Ris MRT station at Block 528B, Pasir Ris Street 51, first spotted the group of SMRT workers walking on the tracks at about 11am yesterday.
The 34-year-old housewife, who has been living there with her husband and their two young children for two years, was surprised as it was her first time seeing workers on the tracks.
However, she then heard workers scream and shout.
"I looked out of my living room window and saw them waving their hands in the air. They looked like they were trying to stop the train that was approaching in their direction. It was moving so fast that I was scared for them."
Within seconds, she heard a loud screech from the train brakes.
"The next thing I knew, the train had stopped and I saw a body on the tracks. I was so shocked that the deaths took place so near my home. I feel so sad for the victims."
Another resident and operations manager Mr Jufri Jasni, 32, said he heard repeated shouts of: "Oi! Oi!"
However, he "did not think much of it" as he thought they were just doing maintenance work, and only found out about the two deaths a few hours later when he watched the news on TV.
He said he felt deeply saddened at the loss of two young lives.
"These accidents are avoidable," said Mr Jufri. "I hope SMRT will look into this incident and tackle these risk issues. We're talking about real lives here."
According to The New Paper, Mr Nasrulhudin was a Temasek Polytechnic engineering graduate. The SMRT job was his first after completing national service last year.
Likewise, it was Mr Asyraf's first job after graduating from the Institute of Technical Education.
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