A video showing Bangkok’s skytrain running at full speed with one of it’s doors half open has triggered public outrage — and a public apology from the BTS.
The video, uploaded last night by Twitter user Pa Gorn, picks up as the BTS is approaching Saphan Kwai station at about 7:30am yesterday morning. The clip quickly went viral, having collected more than 200,000 views since it was posted last night.
The two young women in the video are clearly shocked by the open door, as they look at each other to process what is happening. Closer to the end of the video, a Thai man can be seen slowly moving closer to the door before he rings an emergency button to speak to the staff.
“The door of the last car … it’s not closed,” he said to the operator, just before the video ends.
Bts อาการหนักแล้ว
อย่ายืนพิงประตูกันนะอันตราย pic.twitter.com/OnAM3kHizx— ป๋ากร (@Pa_Gorn) August 2, 2018
“Someone who was playing with their phone could have fallen in, hahaha” comments a Thai netizen who apparently finds life-threatening incidents LOL-worthy.
Actually, we don’t even want to imagine the outcome if this had happened during evening rush hour, when the trains are usually overcrowded.
“Honestly, every time I get on the BTS, I always think of [horror movie] Final Destination,” commented another, who said they felt unsafe thanks to the skytrain’s “constant bumpy rides.”
This morning, the BTS operator publicly owned up and apologized for the malfunction on Twitter, without giving further explanation as to why the incident occurred, something we here at Coconuts Bangkok would love to hear more about.
“Staff stopped the train to tend to the problem and locked the doors immediately upon the train’s arrival at Saphan Kwai station,” the statement reads, “The whole incident only totaled two minutes. We have inspected and fixed the train in question, and we won’t let this happen again.”
Honestly, the fact that the incident “only” lasted two minutes isn’t much comfort, given that it wouldn’t take more than two seconds to fall out of the train.
Also providing little in the way of reassurance, this casual warning the BTS offered commuters: “Following this incident, we ask you to please not lean against the doors.”
Gee, thanks.
“If you see anything out of the ordinary, please press a button to inform staff or send our admins a LINE message,” reads their Tweet.
From massive delays due to “signal malfunctions” to pottie mishaps to indoor rain, the BTS skytrain has been the subject of plenty of unwanted attention lately.
Choosing to finger-wag at riders after this incident though really takes the cake.
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