Two maintenance staff from SMRT Corp. died in an accident after being sent to investigate conditions near a commuter rail station, the company said in a statement posted on Facebook. The company had sent teams to investigate after a “signaling condition monitoring device” near Pasir Ris Station in the east of the city state was triggered at about 11 a.m. Tuesday, SMRT President and Group CEO Desmond Kuek said. “The teams moved in a single file along the walkway beside the track to the investigation location. Unfortunately, during the process, the accident occurred.” The company is assisting the police in their investigations into the accident, Kuek said in the statement. The deaths were reported hours earlier by local media including the Straits Times newspaper, which cited Patrick Nathan, the Singapore train operator’s vice president for corporate information and communications. The accident comes after SMRT faced public criticism for service disruptions in the past few years even as it expanded its network. Singapore Transport Minister Khaw Boon Wan appointed an engineering specialist in October to advise on rail transformation and said the government was discussing changes in the industry structure. The train operator earlier tweeted that train services between Tanah Merah and Pasir Ris stations had been affected. Service has resumed, according to the latest tweets.