MTR : to Make a Further Donation of $5 Million to Arson Victims

PR081/17

22 September 2017

Taking consideration of the further needs and care required for the hospitalised passengers who were injured in the arson attack on board a train on 10 February 2017, the MTR Corporation will launch an initiative, under which an amount of $5 million will be donated by the Corporation to support such passengers.

On 10 February 2017, a passenger on board a train going from Admiralty to Tsim Sha Tsui ignited a bottle of inflammable liquid. Although MTR staff and emergency services handled the incident in a robust, orderly, speedy and effective manner, a number of passengers were injured and hospitalised.

To offer immediate assistance to the injured passengers, the Corporation and the Tung Wah Group of Hospitals jointly launched a donation campaign for them from February to March 2017. Eventually, a total of HK$2.475 million was raised, of which the MTR Corporation and staff contributed $2 million and members of the public donated $0.475 million. The collected donations were fully distributed to the injured passengers according to professional medical advice based on the length of the period of their hospitalisation.

In view of the seriousness of the incident, the Corporation established an Executive Review Panel, which included two external experts, to conduct a thorough examination of the incident handling and safety procedures. The Panel concluded that the incident handling by MTR staff and emergency services was robust, orderly, speedy and effective which successfully contained the number of injured passengers.

However, understanding that those passengers who were seriously injured in the incident may need further support for their recovery, the Corporation will make an additional donation of $5 million to support their recovery. Together with the previous $2 million donation, this will bring the total amount donated by the Corporation and its staff for this incident to $7 million.

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"MTR has been deeply concerned about the well-being of the passengers who were injured in the arson attack this February. To show our concern, in addition to the action taken early, which included a donation drive raising $2 million from MTR and our colleagues, we will donate an additional $5 million to support passengers seriously injured in the arson incident. The total donation of $7 million is a gesture to show the care of MTR and our colleagues to those injured. We wish them all a speedy recovery," said Mr Lincoln Leong, Chief Executive Officer of MTR Corporation.

Further details will be announced in due course.

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About MTR Corporation

MTR Corporation is regarded as one of the world's leading railway operators for safety, reliability, customer service and cost efficiency. In its home base of Hong Kong, the Corporation operates ten commuter railway lines, a Light Rail network and a high-speed Airport Express link on which about 5.6 million passenger trips are made on a normal week day. Another 5.6 million passenger trips are made on the rail services it operates outside Hong Kong in the Mainland of China, the United Kingdom, Sweden and Australia. In addition, the Corporation is involved in a range of railway construction projects as well as railway consultancy and contracting services around the world. Leveraging on its railway expertise, the Corporation is involved in the development of transit-related residential and commercial property projects, property management, shopping malls leasing and management, advertising media and telecommunication services.

For more information about MTR Corporation, please visit www.mtr.com.hk.