(Bloomberg) -- An MTR Corp. train derailed in Hong Kong, dealing a fresh blow for the subway operator that has become a target and battleground in the anti-Beijing demonstrations rocking the city.
The incident, which occurred Tuesday morning and injured eight people, involved three carriages that went off track and prompted the company to suspend trains running between Hung Hom Station and Mong Kok East Station on the East Rail Line. It's unclear when the service will resume, MTR's director of operations Adi Lau said at a briefing in the evening.
Secretary for Transport and Housing Frank Chan said he couldn't determine whether the “serious incident” was an accident or not -- comments that were echoed by the MTR and investigators. A probe may take three to six months to complete, the Electrical and Mechanical Services Department said.
The derailment aggravates what's already been a tough few months for a company that long held a reputation for speedy and reliable services before it became a target of demonstrators. In recent weeks, many of its facilities have been smashed and protesters set fires outside stations, which have often been the scenes of violent clashes with police.
Hong Kong's Subway in Crisis After Repeated Attacks
Investigators said they will examine whether there were mechanical issues or foreign objects on the tracks. There were three cracks on the rail but it wasn't clear whether they appeared before the incident, Lau said.
In March, a couple of Hong Kong subway trains collided during a test run of a new signaling system, resulting in two drivers being hospitalized. Months earlier, a simultaneous signaling glitch on four subway lines caused chaos at stations during the morning peak-hour rush.
Shares of MTR, which also had its credit-rating outlook downgraded by Moody's Investors Service on Tuesday, fell as much as 2.1% before closing down 1.3% at HK$46.20, the lowest in a week.
--With assistance from Stephen Tan.
To contact the reporters on this story: Jinshan Hong in Hong Kong at jhong214@bloomberg.net;Natalie Lung in Hong Kong at flung6@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Rachel Chang at wchang98@bloomberg.net, Young-Sam Cho, Will Davies
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