A stalled monorail train caused 183 passengers to be trapped for a nerve-wracking hour on the Brickfields tracks today.    

According to a Hang Tuah Fire and Rescue operations room spokesperson, they received the distress call about 2.18pm.   

"The train stalled right after it left the Tun Sambanthan station heading towards the Maharajalela station," he told Bernama when contacted in Kuala Lumpur.

Taman Desa, Pantai and Sri Hartamas rescue personnel were rushed to the scene as well, he added.   

"We evacuated 63 passengers using fire engine cranes and the rest were rescued by pushing the stalled train into the Tun Sambanthan station with another train," he said.     

Meanwhile, Prasarana Negara Berhad, Media Affairs manager Azhar Ghazali said the 1.58 pm incident was due to a 'Traction Control' malfunction which caused the train's engine to stop automatically.  

One fainted due to heat

He said one passenger fainted and two others had breathing difficulties and were taken to the Kuala Lumpur Hospital for treatment.  

Meanwhile, passenger Nur Izzah Nazihah Hasnul Bahrin, 14, from Nilai, said the train had been moving normally before coming to an abrupt halt.   

"The engine stopped suddenly and the air-conditioning was also not working," she told reporters, adding that people started becoming anxious when they saw two passengers fainting.  

A tourist from England, Matthew, 27, said the train was already very crowded when he boarded it at the Tun Sambanthan station.

"There were still some people laughing when the train came to a halt not realising the situation we were in," he added.

- Bernama