MANILA, Philippines (3rd UPDATE) – The Light Rail Transit Line 2 (LRT2) resumed operations on Sunday morning, May 19, after temporarily suspending it due to a train collision that injured at least 34 people.

“LRT2 resumed its operation with train insertion at 10:47 am today,” said the Department of Transportation in a tweet on Sunday morning.

The unprecedented LRT2 collision happened between two Quezon City stations late Saturday evening, May 18. Authorities said 30 of the victims were passengers while 4 others were LRT2 personnel.

Reynaldo Berroya, administrator of LRT2 operator Light Rail Transit Authority (LRTA), said earlier on Sunday that passengers will be able to use the trains again once the clearing operations are finished.

“We will immediately resume our operations once the clearing operations and safety checks are completed at the revenue line,” said Berroya in a statement posted on the LRT2’s official Twitter account.

READ: This is LRTA’s statement following the train incident last night pic.twitter.com/42CVoCTMng

— LRT2 (@OfficialLRTA) May 19, 2019

Two train coaches collided between the LRT2’s Cubao and Anonas stations at 9:51 pm on Saturday.

In a press briefing, LRTA spokesman Hernando Cabrera explained that one of the trains was parked on the emergency track and then started moving for an “unknown reason.” 

“Pumunta siya do’n sa main line, pasalubong ngayon do’n sa train coming from Cubao Station. The train coming from Cubao Station was immediately informed [na] may runaway train, so immediately tumigil ‘yung good train…. ‘Yung runaway train, ‘yun ang tuloy-tuloy na bumangga,” he said.

(That train went to the main line, in the path of the train coming from the Cubao Station. The train coming from the Cubao Station was immediately informed that there was a runaway train, so immediately the good train stopped…. The runaway train was the one which hit the good train.)

Most of the victims sustained minor injuries and were soon released from the hospitals where they sent for treatment. But the LRT2 said 5 of the injured are still undergoing treatment at the World Citi Medical Center and the Quirino Memorial Medical Center.

Berroya said the LRT2 will be shouldering all their medical expenses and will also “provide all the necessary assistance.”

The LRT2 has already launched an investigation into the train collision. 

“We apologize for this unfortunate incident and rest assured that LRTA will seriously look into it,” said Berroya.

The LRT2’s statement on Sunday described the train collision as an “isolated case and a first” for the railway line since it started operating in 2003. – Rappler.com