HONG KONG 17 Sep (ANA) -  A rare metro train derailment in Hong Kong today injured at least eight people and disrupted two rail lines during rush hour in the heart of the Asian financial hub.

 

Five hundred passengers were evacuated from the train. Eight passengers reported injuries when they arrived at the concourse of the station, according to authorities.

 

The disruption to a usually seamless network used by nearly six million people every weekday happened after a train derailed while leaving a station in the city's Kowloon area, rail operator MTR said.

 

The incident occurred near Hung Hom station - a busy interchange that provides services to mainland China - causing the East Rail Line to be momentarily suspended, according to the MTR Service Update Twitter account. The West Rail Line suffered severe delays as a result.

 

Run by MTR employees, MTR Service Update provides unofficial updates on train operations.(ANA)

FA/ANA/17 September 2019------