Smoking Power Bank Disrupts Taipei Metro Blue Line Train

Taipei: A passenger's power bank began smoking on a Taipei Metro train on the Bannan Blue Line, prompting Taipei Rapid Transit Corp. (TRTC) to transfer about 1,200 passengers to another train, the company said. According to Focus Taiwan, a post by an unidentified observer on Threads reported that a power bank caught fire on a Bannan Line train at around 8 a.m., resulting in flames that were described as "huge." The post added that many passengers were made to disembark from the train. Though the company did not specifically comment on a fire or the size of the flames, it confirmed that a passenger on a train heading east from Taipei Main Station reported over the intercom that an object inside the train was emitting smoke. Upon receiving the report, the metro traffic control center notified police, the fire department, and the rapid transit police brigade. A station master boarded the train to assess the situation and found that a passenger had already used a fire extinguisher on the device. The company th en arranged for about 1,200 passengers on the train to transfer to another train that arrived two minutes later, according to the TRTC. Police and firefighters will conduct an investigation into the incident, the company stated.