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SMRT investigates escalator emitting smoke at Ang Mo Kio MRT

Smoke seen at Ang Mo Kio MRT Station on 5 February 2018. Photo: Facebook/Jas Chua Suat Ping
Smoke seen at Ang Mo Kio MRT Station on 5 February 2018. Photo: Facebook/Jas Chua Suat Ping

Update: This story has been updated to include comments from SMRT.

Smoke was seen coming from an escalator at Ang Mo Kio MRT Station on Monday afternoon (5 February), prompting staff to cordon off a section of the station.

SMRT vice president for corporate communications Margaret Teo told Yahoo News Singapore that at about 1.20pm Monday, station staff detected smoke from an escalator leading towards the underground linkway to AMK Hub.

All three escalators were shut off and the linkway was closed immediately. The Singapore Civil Defence Force was alerted.

Teo said that one SMRT staff member was sent to hospital for observation due to smoke inhalation.

She added that initial investigations revealed that the smoke could have come from overheated motor bearings in the faulty escalator, which had been replaced earlier that day. Further checks would be carried out before putting the escalator back in service.

The linkway was reopened at 6.10pm, said Teo.

Train services on the North-South Line were not affected.

A photo posted on social media by Jas Chua Suat Pin showed SMRT staff directing commuters in an MRT station shrouded in smoke. Chua wrote that there was a “pungent smell” and that it was “difficult to breathe”.

In a video of the incident, commuters were seen taking videos of the smoke coming from the escalator.