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A metro train operating on Istanbul’s M4 Kadikoy-Sabiha Gokcen Airport line derailed near Bostanci because of a switch failure, injuring three people who were taken to nearby hospitals.
The derailment occurred while the train was traveling in the Bostanci area.
Passengers left the train by their own means after the incident and walked through the tunnel for some time.
After leaving the metro, passengers moved toward bus stops near Bostanci Bridge, causing crowding in the area.
Firefighters, medical teams and metro crews were dispatched to the scene.
The three injured people were taken to nearby hospitals after receiving initial treatment from medical teams at the scene.
Dilek Kaygalak, who was on the metro during the incident, said everyone was in a state of panic and that the electricity inside the train had gone out.
Kaygalak said she has asthma and had difficulty breathing at the time.
“There were children next to me, and they and their mothers also started to panic,” she said. “No announcement was made to us in any way. People opened the doors by their own means, and we evacuated ourselves. First we went forward, then we were told we had to go back. We returned that way again with our feet in water and mud.”
Another passenger, Ayten Yucel, said the metro first moved backward between Kucukyali and Bostanci stations before hitting a wall.
“Then it hit the wall, and we experienced quite a shake,” Yucel said. “The electricity went out and the doors did not open at first. Since no announcement was made, people panicked even more. We panicked because we did not know or understand whether there was a fire or something else.”
Yucel said passengers were also worried about the risk of electricity on the tracks.
“We evacuated ourselves by walking toward the front of the metro,” she said. “There were people who fainted, and there were elderly women with canes. We walked for 10 to 15 minutes, and after about half an hour, the teams who arrived told us we had to walk in the opposite direction. We lost time there.”
She said nothing worse happened, but added that an announcement system was needed so precautions could be taken quickly in such situations and passengers could be calmed.
Orhan Coban, another passenger, said the signal was suddenly cut while he was traveling from Bostanci to Kucukyali, and that passengers left the tunnel in panic.
Istanbul Provincial Health Director Abdullah Emre Guner said in a statement on NSosyal that many 112 emergency health teams and UMKE personnel were directed to the area after the incident on the M4 Kadikoy-Sabiha Gokcen Airport Metro Line.
“Our teams have taken the necessary health measures at the scene and are continuing their work in coordination with the relevant institutions,” Guner said.
Emergency crews and metro teams continued their work at the site following the derailment.
The incident disrupted service on part of the M4 line, which connects Kadikoy with Sabiha Gokcen Airport.
Metro services cannot currently operate between Kadikoy and Kucukyali stations because of the derailment.
Services are continuing between Maltepe and Sabiha Gokcen Airport stations. Teams remain at the site as work continues.
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