SINGAPORE: An incident of a power bank emitting a strange smell and then smoke led to the evacuation of MRT passengers at Tanjong Pagar station last Friday (Dec 5).
Fortunately, no one was injured in the incident, which took place at around 2 pm.
A Xiaohongshu user named Liu Xiaopang posted about it, saying that the train was still at the station when the smoke and smell began to waft from the power bank. He added that the device did not catch fire, nor were there any explosions heard.
The smoke and smell, however, were enough to alarm some of the passengers, one of whom activated the emergency communication button. SMRT staff were on hand and arrived quickly to guide all the passengers safely out of the affected car.
Moreover, a new train arrived within five minutes so that the passengers could continue with their journeys.
According to Mr Liu, the owner of the faulty power bank apologized to the other commuters, who, fortunately, did not panic when the smoke began to spread.
The Xiaohongshu user noted that it was the first time for them to see the emergency communication button being used.
Lam Sheau Kai, the president of SMRT Trains, has spoken on the incident to the media. AsiaOne quoted him as saying that the staff responded quickly to the incident and found out that the smoke was coming from the power bank of one of the passengers.
Mr Lam also noted that the passengers were quickly evacuated for their own safety.
Power banks catching fire
There has been a spate of power banks overheating and even catching fire this year, including in Singapore.
On March 7, a power bank belonging to a commuter caught fire on a train at Raffles Place MRT station. The emergency communication button was activated, and 650 passengers were quickly guided out of the train, again with no injuries. A staff member was able to put the fire out using a fire extinguisher.
Similar incidents occurred in Taiwan in August and November, as well as in Japan in July.
Power banks from a brand called ROMOSS were responsible for incidents on a Hong Kong Airlines flight in March, as well as an Air China flight in October. This has led to industry-wide scrutiny and stricter quality controls.
The worst incident occurred on January 25, when an Air Busan flight caught fire, believed to have been caused by a passenger’s power bank in an overhead bin. The mishap damaged the plane, and several passengers were injured, though all were successfully evacuated. /TISG
Read also: Woman calmly extinguished fire despite suffering burns when charging power bank explodes at home
