In a heart-pounding incident that unfolded in the early hours of November 1st, passengers aboard an Ekspres Rakyat Timuran (ERT) train found themselves in a harrowing situation as their locomotive collided with a herd of stray cows in the serene countryside.
Thankfully, all 336 passengers and five crew members emerged unscathed from the ordeal, though the same couldn’t be said for the unsuspecting bovine intruders.
ERT Train collides into 14 cows in Pahang
The incident occurred at the obscure stretch of railway tracks between Bahau and Triang Station, specifically at KM84.50 to KM84.75, nestled within the tranquil landscapes of Bera, Pahang.
Bera district police chief, Supt Zulkiflee Nazir, provided insights into the alarming collision, explaining that all 14 cows met a tragic fate at 3.10am of that fateful Thursday.
Furthermore, the collision caused some damage to the train’s eight-wagon structure, as reported by Sinar Harian.
Revisiting a similar incident
Surprisingly, this wasn’t an isolated event. Just one day before, on October 31st, an eerily similar incident unfolded at the exact same location.
On that occasion, a train carrying 400 passengers encountered a group of five cows on the tracks.
The sequence of events on two consecutive days in the same area raises concerns about safety and livestock management.
The ERT train, en route from Gemas, Negeri Sembilan, to Tumpat, Kelantan, resumed its journey after a comprehensive damage inspection was carried out.
Following these unsettling incidents, Supt Zulkiflee Nazir stressed the importance of collective responsibility among all relevant parties.
Preventive actions should be taken to mitigate potential dangers and enhance railway safety.
Additionally, he urged local farmers to exercise greater responsibility in managing their livestock, emphasising the importance of ensuring that cows do not wander onto the railway tracks.
