BENGALURU: Panic prevailed at the Cubbon Park Metro station on Saturday mornng after it was filled up with smoke and the fire alarms went off. Passengers who alighted from the Metro and those on the platform made a quick exit.
According to official sources, the motor belt of the air-conditioner unit, located on the concourse area of the underground station, broke down on Thursday morning. “Since the air-conditioner was still functioning, smoke started emanating from the unit and started spreading all over the station.”
Following this, the fire alarms went off, creating panic. With a Metro train just reaching the station at the same time, the smoke enveloped the last coach of the train too, giving an impression that there was a fire-related issue on the train.
The fire brigade was called in after which the train services were stopped for the next 20 minutes along the entire East-West corridor from Baiyappanahalli to Mysuru Road.
“This is the first time this kind of incident involving an air-conditioner has occurred in an underground Metro station,” said an official. “We have conducted trials with the fire alarms many times earlier though,” he added.
There were a few passengers on board the train and on the platform during the incident. But none suffered injuries. Soon, the Cubbon Park station was shut. When asked how this can be averted in future, an official said, “We are also now thinking on those lines and wondering what should be done.”