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Washington DC
subway crash
kills 9,
injures 75
WASHINGTON: Two Washington DC
subway trains collided during the
Monday afternoon rush hour, killing
nine people and injuring at least 75,
officials said early on Tuesday.
A District of Columbia Fire Depart-
ment official said the death toll had
been raised from six late on Monday,
but said officials were not prepared to
identify any of the deceased.
Mayor Adrian Fenty called the crash
the deadliest in the 33-year history of
the city’s Metro subway system.
Officials said one train hit another
train that had stopped at a platform,
but the cause of the crash was not im-
mediately clear. At least one car from
the trailing train was hurled onto the
top of the other in the accident, which
occurred on above-ground tracks.
“Metro officials do not know the
cause of the collision and are not
likely to know the cause for several
days as the investigation unfolds,” the
Washington Metropolitan Area Transit
Authority said on its website.
The crash occurred on the heavily
travelled red line about 5pm EDT (5am
yesterday in Malaysia), between Fort
Totten and Takoma stations on the
northeastern outskirts of the city near
the border with Maryland. Both trains
were heading south into the city.
It was the first crash involving a
passenger death since 1982, when
three people were killed in a derail-
ment. The Metro train system began
service in 1976.
“What happened ... (was) one train
was stopped waiting to get the order
to pass. ... The next train came up
behind it and, for reasons that we do
not know, collided into the back of that
train,” John Catoe, general manager
of the Washington Metropolitan Area
Transit Authority, told reporters.
One of those killed was a female
train operator in the trailing train. The
accident trapped passengers in one or
more of the subway cars. – Agencies
Member of Audit Bureau of Circulations (Malaysia)
» A tale of two councils pg12
FLU SPREADS
10 NEW CASES, TWO MORE SCHOOLS CLOSED
T
HE Influenza A(H1N1) epi-
demic has worsened, with 10
new confirmed cases – two
of them locally-transmitted
– and two more schools closed
yesterday.
The two schools are Seri Cem-
paka International School in Cheras,
Kuala Lumpur, and SRK Assunta 1
in Petaling Jaya. Seri Cempaka is
closed until Saturday, and Assunta
1 until Monday.
Rescue workers
searching the
subway trains for
victims.
30 SEN for delivery to your doorstep
TELLING IT AS IT IS
» Push for men’s accessories at Milan shows pg21
This brings to four the number
of schools closed because of local
transmission of the deadly flu bug.
Director-General of Health Tan
Sri Dr Mohd Ismail Merican told a
daily news conference it might be
necessary for schools to conduct in-
ternal screening, with the teachers
encouraged to examine the students
and pupils for fever.
A decision on the proposal and
how to conduct the examination
2009 AWARDS
Award winning newspaper
for excellence in
investigative reporting
No. 4787 PP 2644/12/2009 (023092)
Wednesday
June 24, 2009
www.sun2surf.com
style
ZA
A (H1N1)
HO
INFLUEN
TLINE
3-
00
0
88 3
81020 0/
will be announced today after a gatherings in
meeting of a technical committee. the Klang Valley
He said students who had visited although most of the A (H1N1) cases
countries such as the Philippines, reported are in the area, said Deputy
the United Kingdom, Australia and Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin
the United States should undergo Yassin. “Unless there is an obvious
self-quarantine for seven days and need for it, we don’t want to raise un-
keep away from school. necessary alarm among the people,”
he said.
Other developments:
» The government has no plan » Children in the three partially-
to close all schools or ban public closed schools may stay away from
class without having to produce
AFP PIC
medical certificates (MCs), said
Education Director-General Tan
Sri Alimuddin Mohd Dom. Parents
who feel their children are not well
enough to attend school may inform
the school authorities.
The three schools, each of
which have a class closed, are SMK
Damansara Utama, SMK Seksyen
9 in Shah Alam and SMK Wangsa
Maju Seksyen 2 in Kuala Lumpur.
The classes are closed until the end
of this week.
Apart from the three tainted
schools, parents who notice their
children displaying symptoms of the
flu can allow their children to stay
home. This arrangement is only for
the next one or two weeks.
» A total 200,000 frontliners will be
involved in tackling the flu pandemic
under the National Influenza Prepar-
edness Pandemic Plan 2006, Health
Minister Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai
said in the Dewan Rakyat.
They comprise civil servants
under the health and medical
category, the police, Civil Defence
Department, armed forces, Fire and
Rescue Department and Immigra-
tion Department. In early May, they
had been given 200,000 doses of flu
vaccine.
» See reports on Page 3