The close family friend of a model who died in an e-bike battery fire has warned that it is only a matter of time until a similar incident happens on a train.
Alda Simoes, 47, has called for Transport for London to ban e-bikes from trains and stations in the wake of Sofia Duarte’s death in a “ferocious fire” on New Year’s Day in 2023.
The 21-year-old had gone to her boyfriend’s home on Old Kent Road from her job at a nightclub shortly before a fire started in a lithium battery power pack for an e-bike which was placed near the front door of the building to charge.
Her family and friends are petitioning for a stringent review of e-bikes on public transport “to prevent such heartbreaking incidents from occurring again”.
Ms Simoes told the Standard: “We can not save Sofia but we can try to prevent other people from dying.
“I’m concerned that an e-bike may burst into flames but most people haven’t even heard of an e-bike exploding.
“We had never heard of it until Sofia passed away.”
An e-bike or e-scooter battery has the same amount of energy as six-hand grenades, according to the Fire Protection Agency.
Ms Simoes first met Sofia when she was 10 years old and had moved into her building.
She remembered the young woman as a “very special young lady” who always had a strong personality.
She is believed to have been the first person to die in London due to an e-bike fire.
Ms Simoes continued: “She was caring. She was very close to her mum. This is a death that could be prevented if lessons are put in place.”
She highlighted how a similar fire could happen on a train at any time, pointing out how an e-bike burst into flames at Sutton train station in March.
Onlookers fled up the platform at the station as smoke began to shoot out of the bike and within 10 seconds it was engulfed in flames.
In a similar incident passengers were forced to flee after an e-scooter exploded on the tube platform at Parsons Green station in November 2021.
Passengers could be heard coughing and spluttering from smoke inhalation after the lithium battery of the device exploded at the front of a District Line carriage.
Ms Simoes continued: “They have been exploding everywhere. It is just a matter of time until something like that happens on a train.
“I see e-bikes going into the lifts and I think ‘Is this really happening?’ It doesn’t make any sense. At any moment they could explode.
“They are waiting for an accident to happen. I feel they are waiting for a bike to explode inside a train to do something.”
A petition launched by Ms Simoes calling for e-bikes to be banned from the Transport for London network has gathered over 20,000 signatures in just a week on Change.org.
Sofia’s mother Maria Frasquilho Macarro previously described her daughter as “a fun-loving girl” who loved to dance and party.
She said: “All I have left is my daughter’s ashes in a box in my room. I urge everyone to be so careful with e-bikes, so you don’t have to go through the hell I am going through. I miss my daughter so much; she was my world.”
She explained: “I really want to make sure Sofia’s death is not in vain. If I can raise awareness about the dangers of e-bikes and lithium batteries then there will be a positive in this.
“If we can save someone else’s life, I will take great comfort in that because at the moment I am hurting and I don’t want others to suffer as much as I have done."
A TfL spokesperson said: “Safety is our number one priority and we continuously review our risk assessments and the controls we have in place to ensure our customers can travel safely. As part of this process, we continue to discuss the potential risks associated with the carriage of e-bikes on TfL services with stakeholders.”
