A BART train was evacuated in Oakland after reports of smoke Monday afternoon.
The incident happened at around 2:20 p.m. at the MacArthur BART Station when riders said they started hearing a popping sound and smoke coming from one of the back train cars, but heard no instruction from officials on what to do.
""It was a little chaotic, there was really no instructions going. People were just kind of all over the place," BART passenger Jamie Patrick said.
All trains at the station were at a halt for over an hour while firefighters were at the scene.
Service resumed by 4 p.m. but BART officials warned of major delays.
BART officials later said that it was not a fire but an equipment failure on the train. They added that the smoke resulted from a piece of the equipment that was interfering with the third rail.
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Witness video shows smoke coming from the rear of the train and riders say they rushed toward the cars in the front of the train to get away from the smoke.
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"I thought it was gonna blow up," BART passenger Lasonia Walker said. "Because it was the popping that I could continue to hear. The popping and the smelling of the smoke. Seeing the smoke outside of the window of the train. Then it started getting frantic."
When that didn’t work, one woman said she decided to pull the emergency lever to open the doors, and as video shows, people started jumping off the train to get to safety.
As firefighters arrived, BART cut off power and service to the MacArthur station, with no trains coming in and out, triggering major delays.
While no injuries were reported to BART, witnesses said they saw several people with minor injuries sustained during the rush to get off the train.
