Fifty-two individuals are believed to have been affected by suspected carbon monoxide poisoning aboard a train in Kazakhstan’s largest city. Among them, ten children were admitted to the hospital, with two in critical condition, as confirmed by the Almaty city public health department.
The distressing incident took place upon the train’s arrival at Almaty-2 railway station in the southeastern region of the Central Asian nation. Emergency response included dispatching thirteen ambulance teams to the scene. All 52 individuals, including children, were injured and promptly transferred to various city hospitals for evaluation and essential medical attention.
While the ten hospitalized children are under close medical supervision, the remaining 42 individuals have been discharged for continued care at home, officials reported. Kazakhstan’s national rail carrier, ‘Passenger Transportation,’ clarified that a separate film crew was working in the carriages during the incident and that the train belonged to a private company.
Addressing the situation, a company spokesperson stated that the National Carrier had no involvement in the carbon monoxide incident at Almaty-2 railway station. The train linked to the poisoning is not part of JSC ‘Passenger Transportation’ but is privately operated. The carriages were allocated to a film studio for shooting purposes.
According to local reports from TengriNews, a South Korean TV series was being filmed aboard the train. Witnesses described a scenario where passengers, including women and children, were moved to a cold carriage after a last-minute decision by the Korean film crew. Despite complaints about the lack of heating, filming continued for about three hours until a gas burner was eventually provided in a different cold carriage.
Subsequently, around 50 people, including children, gathered around the gas burner, leading to multiple children fainting and a state of panic among passengers. Paramedics and law enforcement responded to assist the injured individuals at the station.