'Probe Into MTR Derailment May Take Six Months'

The government has urged people not to speculate over the cause of Tuesday morning’s train derailment, saying an investigation into the cause of the incident will take between three to six months to complete.

An East Rail train travelling towards Hung Hom station went off the tracks during the morning rush hour, splitting in two in the process.

Eight people were injured, with five requiring hospital treatment.

The Director of the Electrical and Mechanical Services Department, Alfred Sit, appealed to the public to give his officers time and space to do their jobs.

“At this moment we don’t have any speculation on suggestions of a cause of the incident. I’m going to conduct a thorough, comprehensive and independent investigation to make sure the root cause of the incident will be found out”, he said.

Sit acknowledged that a small crack of “around one or two millimetres” was found on the track, but officials do not know at this early stage whether the crack factored into the derailment, or was a result of it.

He told reporters it’s also possible that objects thrown onto the tracks could have caused the derailment, but said there’s no evidence for this at the moment.

“Please give the EMSD time to find evidence and confirm the cause [of the derailment]. I will deliver an in-depth and comprehensive report and strive to let everyone know the truth of the matter. But at this moment I want to stress that any speculation may not assist the investigation, but may actually lead it in the wrong direction”, Sit warned.

Transport Secretary Frank Chan struck a similar tone when addressing reporters after inspecting the damage.

“We will not rule out any possibility [as to the cause of the derailment] but at this stage we won’t speculate on any particular suggestions”, Chan said.

He also gave assurances that the rail firm will do all it can to ensure passenger safety.

“As far as the Mass Transit Railway is concerned they would exercise vigilance to ensure that the system is running safely and smoothly to enable passengers to have a nice ride”, he said.