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Police remove the body of a man that was killed this morning when he jumped in front of a moving train at Choa Chu Kang MRT station. -- ST PHOTO: JOYCE FANG
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TRAIN services at Choa Chu Kang station were disrupted for about an hour on Monday morning after a man fell onto the MRT track and was hit by a train pulling in on the North-bound track towards Jurong East.
SMRT said some 7,300 commuters travelling from Yew Tee to Bukit Gombak stations were affected by the disruption between 8am and 8.50am.
A shopkeeper in the station said he heard commuters saying that the man had jumped onto the track during the morning rush hour.
Police received a call at 8am that a man had fallen onto the track, near the 5th exit from the rear, and rushed a team from the Singapore Civil Defence Force to the scene.
The man, a Chinese in his mid-40s, was pinned under the third carriage of the train and was pronounced dead by paramedics at 8.30am.
The incident disrupted the morning peak hour train services between Yew Tee and Bukit Gombak stations, towards Jurong East.
Trains running on this line had to turn around.
SMRT quickly activated its bus bridging service and sent a dozen buses to the station to bring the stranded commuters to the connecting stations shortly after 8am.
Scores of other commuters rushing to work turned to taxis, sparking a long queue at the cab stand. Others called their families to pick them up, while many decided to walk to the next station to catch the train.
Normal train services resumed at about 8.50am after the body of the man was removed from the track.
An eyewitness, Mr Rommel, 41, a Filipino piping engineer, told The Straits Times that he was waiting on the platform when he heard a woman screaming.
'I was shocked to see a man stuck under the train's carriage. My throat went dry,' said a shaken Mr Rommel.
He said two civilians helped to disperse the crowd near the platform.
Over at Yew Tee station, some 200 commuters were waiting for their train when the service was disrupted.
Passengers who were unable to complete their journeys due to the disruption can claim a full fare refund from the Passenger Service Centre in any of the 51 SMRT stations within the next three working days.
Police are investigating.
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