53 injured in West Java express train accident<\/p>\n
PURWAKARTA, West Java (JP): Seven people were seriously hurt
\nand 46 others suffered minor injuries when a Jakarta-Bandung
\nexpress train collided head-on with a waiting train near the
\nsmall Sadang railway station yesterday morning.<\/p>\n
It is not yet known what caused the accident.<\/p>\n
Eyewitnesses and local officials of state-owned Perumka
\nrailway company said the collision between the two Parahyangan
\ntrains took place at 9:37 a.m about 100 meters from the station
\nwhich is 97 kms east of Jakarta.<\/p>\n
The drivers of the two locomotives were unharmed as they were
\nable to jump before the impact.<\/p>\n
Both locomotives and three cars from the moving train were
\nbadly damaged in the crash. Rail traffic between Jakarta and
\nBandung was halted for about six hours. Sixteen trains usually
\ntravel in each direction daily.<\/p>\n
The Bandung-bound train, which had left Jakarta's Gambir
\nstation at 6:30 a.m., was carrying 357 passengers while the
\nwaiting train going in the opposite direction had 250 passengers
\non board. It had left Bandung at 6 a.m.<\/p>\n
Minister of Transportation Haryanto Dhanutirto, who arrived at
\nthe scene by helicopter a few minutes later, told reporters that
\nthe driver of the train traveling from Jakarta apparently failed
\nto obey a signal to reduce speed.<\/p>\n
Based on a preliminary investigation into the accident,
\nHaryanto said the Bandung-bound train was moving at 20 km\/h when
\nit hit the other Parahyangan train, waiting on a brief section of
\ndouble track for the Bandung-bound train to pass.<\/p>\n
The minister, however, said that the official cause of the
\naccident was still being investigated jointly by Perumka
\nofficials and local detectives.<\/p>\n
\"In the meantime, we don't know yet whose fault this is,\" said
\nHaryanto.<\/p>\n
As of yesterday evening, the Karawang Police precinct was
\nstill questioning at least three people; Hadiyan, the driver of
\nthe Jakarta-Bandung train; Suritno the driver of the waiting
\ntrain and Sadang station manager Hepjon Sihombing.<\/p>\n
While the injured people were treated at the nearby Bayu Asih
\nhospital in Purwakarta, the unharmed passengers were driven by
\nair-conditioned buses hired by Perumka to their respective
\ndestinations.<\/p>\n
The seriously wounded people included two passengers who were
\nsitting in the locomotive of the Bandung-bound train.<\/p>\n
The two suffered major injuries to their heads, chests and
\nlegs.<\/p>\n
They were identified as Ida, 42, of Jl. Taman Manisan, Cawang
\nin East Jakarta and Parikesit, 38, of Jl. Cipinang Pulo also in
\nEast Jakarta.<\/p>\n
Haryanto called them illegal passengers because no passengers
\nare meant to sit in locomotives.<\/p>\n
But Parikesit denied he boarded the train illegally, saying he
\nbought a ticket.<\/p>\n
\"I was asked by a train official to sit in the locomotive
\nsince the train was full,\" the employee of state-owned
\ntelecommunications company PT Telkom said.<\/p>\n
Ida was unavailable for comment yesterday because she was
\nstill recovering from surgery. She is a relative of a Perumka
\nemployee.<\/p>\n
A similar train collision occurred less than two kilometers
\nfrom the scene of yesterday's crash on July 19, 1996. Then two
\ntrains collided at dawn 100 meters from Purwakarta railway
\nstation. Five railway workers riding in one of the locomotives
\nwere killed in that accident. (jun\/bsr)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/53-injured-in-west-java-express-train-accident-1447893297",
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