Duterte waiting for results of LRT 2 crash probe

ON-TRACK CRASH Some 30 passengers and four Light Rail Transit 2 employees suffered injuries when a train crashed into another one on Saturday night. —RICHARD REYES

MANILA, Philippines — Malacañang has assured the public that those found liable for the crash involving two trains of the Light Rail Transit (LRT) 2 will be held accountable.

Presidential spokesperson Salvador Panelo said on Monday that President Rodrigo Duterte was aware of the accident, which happened on Saturday night between the Cubao and Anonas Stations in Quezon City.

“The President is concerned. That’s why he’s waiting for the result of the investigation, the whys and the wherefores of the accident,” Panelo told reporters.

According to him, the President has not issued any instructions regarding the incident.

Thirty passengers and four LRT 2 employees were injured when two trains collided on the eastern tracks at 9:51 p.m. on Saturday.

A “dead” train that had been parked on a “pocket track” near Anonas Station since 2 p.m. moved on its own and headed toward Cubao, figuring in a head-on collision with another train bound for Anonas Station.

Light Rail Transit Authority (LRTA) administrator Reynaldo Berroya called the accident “an isolated case” in the line’s 16 years of operations.

The LRTA said it would conduct its own probe to determine the cause of the crash and also promised to shoulder the hospital bills of the injured.