PNR railroad train derails after leaving Paco station

File photo of a PNR train. INQUIRER photo / RICHARD A. REYES

(Updated, 4:17 p.m.) A southbound Philippine National Railways (PNR) railroad train was derailed minutes after leaving Paco Station on Saturday afternoon.

Passengers were seen evacuating from the displaced coaches as seen in the photos obtained by Radyo Inquirer 990 AM from Gabriel John Humilde.

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Humilde, one of the train passengers, told Radyo Inquirer that the train derailed at about 2 p.m., barely seconds after commuters heared a loud bang.

It took minutes before the doors at both ends of the train were opened. A passenger was reportedly suffocating during the incident, according to Humilde.

After being offloaded from the train, passengers started walking back to Paco Station where they would wait for another train to arrive, while others instead preferred to look for other modes of transportation.

According to Radyo Inquirer, the PNR management is yet to issue a statement on the derailment. The railway management has already dispatched its personnel to look into the incident. /jpv