A woman was rushed to hospital after a power bank caught fire inside a train carriage at Admiralty MRT Station on Monday, March 16, prompting passengers to evacuate the affected cabin.
Train operator SMRT Trains said that the incident took place on a northbound train after the emergency communication button was activated at around 3 pm. Station staff responded quickly and found that a passenger's power bank had caught fire inside the carriage.
The woman managed to extinguish the flames before staff arrived. She was given first aid at the station before being taken to Woodlands Health Campus for further medical attention. No other injuries were reported.
The Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) said that it received a call for assistance at about 3.20 pm at 70 Woodlands Avenue 7, the address of Admiralty MRT station.
Several images of the incident were circulated online shortly after the incident. In a Facebook post, a commuter shared a photograph showing charred fragments believed to be parts of the damaged power bank scattered across the floor of the train cabin.
One passenger, Vernon Lim, said he heard a loud "bang" while travelling in another cabin on the same train. Moments later, he heard someone screaming before a passenger rushed into the carriage he was in and quickly exited the train.
"People were shocked. They stood up, and a number of them left the carriage with the girl as they seemed frightened," the 50-year-old commuter told The Straits Times.
When he later entered the cabin where the sound came from, he noticed smoke drifting through the air, which he described as resembling a "cloudy mist". Burnt metal fragments were visible on the floor.
Passengers in the affected carriage were asked to disembark and continue their journey on the next train while staff attended to the situation. The train involved in the incident was later taken to the depot for inspection.
SMRT Trains president Lam Sheau Kai said such incidents highlight the importance of ensuring portable batteries are safe to use.
"We would like to remind commuters to ensure their power banks have proper safety protection features and are in good condition to reduce the risk of such incidents," he said, as quoted by The Straits Times.
