A passenger in Tyumen experienced a chemical burn while riding public transport. The victim later described the incident in detail from inside the passenger cabin of a city bus, sharing the experience on the Telegram channel Division №1, which has been used by locals to recount incidents and seek information in real time.
The event took place on September 3 on route 39, a line operated by Tyumen Transport System JSC. The woman was seated toward the rear of the bus, near the last row and adjacent to the window, behind the back door. She recalls feeling growing discomfort after roughly twenty minutes of travel. Although the sensation intensified and became painful, she could not move to a more comfortable position because the bus was crowded and moving along the route with limited space for shifting seats or standing up, which left her with little choice but to endure the situation for a stretch of time.
She described the moment when she finally decided to check the source of the pain after about an hour had passed. Upon arrival at her destination building, she realized that the area of her thigh and buttocks had sustained a chemical burn. Medical staff at a burn center confirmed the seriousness of the injury, categorizing it as a deep chemical burn that required prompt hospital treatment. The medical team indicated the need for a hospital stay of about a month, with a high likelihood of additional surgical procedures afterwards to manage damage and promote healing. This sequence highlights the potential for delayed recognition of chemical exposure injuries and the importance of timely medical assessment in similar situations.
The woman noted that when her relatives learned of the incident, they reached out to Tyumen Transport System JSC and requested that the bus involved in the ride be removed from service to prevent further exposure and to allow for a safety review. In response, the operator reportedly suggested that the company file a formal complaint via the official website to issue an apology to the passenger, and declined to halt the bus involved in the journey. This exchange underscores tensions that can arise between passengers seeking accountability and transport operators balancing immediate service needs with safety concerns. It also points to questions about how quickly transportation services should respond to potential safety incidents and how to communicate effectively with affected riders during ongoing service operations.
The resident who spoke out indicated that a statement had already been prepared for the police, suggesting that there may be additional investigations into the incident and into whether proper safety protocols were followed in the period before, during, and after the ride. Her commentary reflects broader worries about the safety standards in public transit within the city, and she expressed concern that even boarding a bus could feel risky under certain circumstances, prompting discussions about passenger protection, incident reporting, and the transparency of transport operators in handling emergencies.
In related news, a separate incident from Novosibirsk involved a student who required a taxi ride after suffering a chemical burn to the hips, illustrating that chemical exposure injuries can occur in various urban transit or shared-ride contexts and that rapid medical attention remains a critical factor in determining outcomes. The comparison underscores the ongoing need for clear safety guidelines, prompt medical evaluation, and consistent accountability practices across different cities and transport networks to reassure riders and reduce the risk of severe injuries in public transportation settings.