SINGAPORE — Dozens of commuters had to disembark at Kembangan MRT Station on Friday (May 20) afternoon after white smoke was seen in a cabin of a westbound train on the East-West Line.

In response to TODAY’s queries, rail operator SMRT said that the incident happened at around 5pm on the day.

“We have confirmed that the smoke emission was due to a leaking air-conditioning compressor that released Freon gas,” it said.

Freon is a non-combustible gas that is used as a refrigerant in air-conditioning applications.

As a safety precaution, SMRT said that station staff members guided commuters to disembark from the train and to board the next train, adding that the affected train was withdrawn from service for more checks.

Mr Lam Sheau Kai, president of SMRT Trains, said in response to TODAY's query: “Our staff did not receive any reports of commuters who needed medical attention.

“We apologise for affecting (their) journey.”

Earlier in the day, TikTok user "Askfar" posted a video showing what appears to be white smoke filling up the carriage of a train headed in the direction of Tuas Link MRT Station.

The train, which looks fairly crowded with passengers, appears to be reaching Kembangan MRT Station.

Later, an SMRT staff member is seen directing all commuters to get off the train.

This is not the first time that such an incident has occurred. In January 2020, a leaked air-conditioning compressor caused white smoke to billow through a train that had stopped at Raffles Place MRT Station.