KUALA LUMPUR: "I heard a loud bang and the impact sent me flying several metres from where I was standing."
R. Anand Raj, who was a passenger in one of the Light Rail Transit (LRT) trains involved in last night's collision near the KLCC station, said passengers including himself were flung inside the coach.
The 33-year-old, who was seeking treatment at Kuala Lumpur Hospital, was speaking to the New Straits Times via one of his parents' phone.
He was on his way home to Bandar Baru Sentul after attending a training session at a hotel, when the collision occurred.
Anand Raj said he boarded the train at the KLCC station and was headed to the Masjid Jamek station to switch trains. However, he noticed the train was stalled longer than usual.
"The train was idle for at least 10 minutes the the doors were still open. I didn't think anything of it at the time.
"Then, when the doors closed and the train was about 10 seconds into the journey, I suddenly heard a loud bang and felt myself being thrown away from the metal bar I was holding on to.
"It felt unreal and happened so fast that I couldn't digest what had just happened."
He said he felt a sharp pain in his right thigh and could not move his right leg after the crash.
"My back of my head was also injured in the incident and I could barely move," he added.
He said in was chaotic inside the coach with many of the passengers bleeding. The injured were lying on the floor.
"I could hear people crying and saw several people trying to help those on the floor to stand," he said, adding that he was in a daze for several minutes.
Anand said he also saw several passengers who had severe injuries and were bleeding profusely inside the train.
"It was only after at least 15 minutes that we knew the incident was caused by a head-on collision. By that time, the rescuers had already started evacuating the injured passengers," he said when recalling the terrifying experience.
At the time of this interview, Anand had been stabllised and was waiting for further treatment at the green zone.
His father, R. Rajendran and mother known only as Mariamma rushed to the hospital after his younger brother told them about the incident.
"Normally by 9pm, he would be home. It is very unlikely of him to be late, so I told the younger brother to call him up.
"That was when Anand told us he was involved in a crash and was inside the ambulance heading to HKL," said Rajendran.
He said they then rushed to the hospital, but were not allowed to see their son yet.
A large group of the victims' family and friends started gathering at HKL's emergency department to check on those injured.
The victims, who were injured in the underground train collision several metres after it took off from the KLCC LRT station, were rushed to the hospital in at least 10 ambulances.
Another victim who only wanted to be known as Nancy said she was among the seated passengers in the train, who ended up on the floor after the massive jolt.
"The train became quite packed when it stopped at the KLCC station. There were people standing around and just as it took off from the station, we heard a loud screeching sound followed by a bang.
"The next thing I knew I was on the floor. There were broken glass pieces and some of it cut my hand.
"There were people sprawled on the floor and some who were thrown several metres away from where they had been standing," she said when met at the hospital.
The administrative executive said at first, she thought it was a bomb blast because of the massive impact and jolt she felt.
"I couldn't lift myself up and was in a state of shock. Even now, I'm still trembling," she said before rushing back into the emergency department for an X-ray.
Nancy sustained deep cuts on both her arms and could not lift one of her hands.