Early investigation shows negligence contributes to metro collision in Malaysian capital

KUALA LUMPUR -- Early investigation suggested that negligence might have contributed to the collision between two trains along the metro line in Malaysia's capital Kuala Lumpur, Transport Minister Wee Ka Siong said on Tuesday.

Early investigation found that the collision happened when the driver of one of the trains, which was not carrying passengers, traveled in the wrong direction and collided with a train carrying 213 passengers in the underground section of Light Rail Transit (LRT) line near the iconic Petronas Twin Towers, Wee told a press briefing.

He said the initial findings found the driver, who was manually operating the train due to technical problems on its automated system, drove the train to a wrong direction.

"Preliminary investigations found that the accident was due to the negligence of the hostler of the train driving Tr40 in the wrong direction," Wee said, referring to the number of the empty train.

Wee said a total of 64 individuals were brought to a nearby hospital after being rescued. As of early Tuesday, 21 are still receiving treatment, including six who are in critical condition.