Cirebon train crash kills 41, injures 62<\/p>\n
CIREBON, West Java (JP): At least 41 people were killed and
\nanother 62 were injured after an incoming passenger train rammed
\ninto a locomotive in the railway station here early on Sunday.<\/p>\n
\"The accident occurred because the train entered the station
\nwithout waiting for our signal,\" head of Cirebon station Bijak
\nFilsadjati told The Jakarta Post in his office.<\/p>\n
The incoming Empu Jaya train from Jakarta -- bound for
\nYogyakarta with some 400 passengers on board in its nine cars --
\ncollided with the locomotive Cirebon Express at 3:45 a.m.<\/p>\n
Witnesses said the locomotive was switching tracks when the
\naccident occurred. The impact was so strong it overturned and was
\nhurled a few meters before lying idle across the railway line,
\nblocking two tracks.<\/p>\n
\"It looks like the result of human error ... the Empu Jaya
\nignored signals and entered the station without reducing speed,\"
\nGatot Wibowo, a spokesman for state railway company PT Kereta Api
\nIndonesia (KAI) was quoted as saying by AFP.<\/p>\n
The Kejaksan station in this coastal city about 200 kilometers
\neast of Jakarta came to a standstill on Sunday as hundreds of
\nonlookers crowded the crash site. About 80 trains pass through
\nthe station each day.<\/p>\n
\"All trains passing through the station were diverted through
\nthe southern route,\" Bijak said, \"but for Cirebon Express
\npassengers who could not leave because of the accident, we gave
\nthem their money back, including reservation fees.\"<\/p>\n
He added that all medical expenses would be covered by
\ninsurance for all victims of the accident.<\/p>\n
Most of the victims were still unidentified, however.<\/p>\n
\"We are still working with the hospital to help identify the
\nvictims, however, relatives of the victims can come to our 24-
\nhour emergency post here,\" said Cirebon station spokesman
\nHartono.<\/p>\n
He said the Empu Jaya train came in later than scheduled and
\nspeculated that exhaustion of the train engineer might have been
\na factor.<\/p>\n
Hundreds of rescue workers continued working into the night,
\nfor fear that possible survivors may be trapped in the badly
\nmangled train, using hand saws and ropes to retrieve bodies from
\nthe wreckage.<\/p>\n
Officials at PT KAI closed all the northern railway lines and
\ndetoured northern bound trains onto the southern lines.<\/p>\n
Empu Jaya train engineer Suwanto and his assistant Sudarto,
\n40, were among the fatalities while Cirebon Express engineer was
\nrushed to Gunung Jati hospital after his body was dragged out of
\nthe badly crushed locomotive.<\/p>\n
No drug<\/p>\n
Antara news agency, quoted Dr. Hiesma who conducted an autopsy
\non Suwanto's body, as saying that there were no traces of drugs
\nfound in his body nor was there an indication of a heart attack.<\/p>\n
Transportation Minister Agum Gumelar who had traveled to
\nCirebon a few hours after the crash said his ministry was
\nconducting a thorough investigation into the incident.<\/p>\n
Agum ruled out the possibility of sabotage and said the
\nincident was most likely caused by human error.<\/p>\n
He estimated PT KAI losses would reach up to Rp 30 billion
\nexcluding those incurred due to the delayed departure of other
\ntrains.<\/p>\n
Heavy lifting equipment was not seen at the scene up to 3 p.m.
\nto move the two locomotives and the two train coaches damaged in
\nthe accident, Antara reported.<\/p>\n
Beside Gunung Jati hospital, the victims were admitted to
\nCiremai and Pelabuhan hospitals.<\/p>\n
Thirty one of the fatalities were identified as Supriatin, 28,
\nof Kebumen; Parwono, 40, Kebumen; Amat Sopan, 45, Yogyakarta;
\nMusran, 35, Jakarta; Rudiyem, 50, Yogyakarta; Nugroho Sulistio,
\n21, Jakarta; Pitono Agung, 21, Bekasi; Suwardi, 40, address not
\nknown; Suwanto, 54, train engineer of Empu Jaya; Sudarto, 40,
\nengineer assistant; Ipuk or Budi Larasati, 40, Bekasi; Fitri
\nAsiari, 18, Jakarta; Sartinah, 49, Jakarta; Ilham, 5, Jakarta;
\nFirman Saleh, 14, Jakarta; Tarmum B. Tugimin, 22, Jakarta; Ade
\nMifthanul C., 22, Jakarta; Marsimah, 55, Kebumen; Suwardi, 45,
\nKebumen; Anton, 22, Kroya; Warsima, 55, Kebumen; Marni (age and
\naddress not available), Umi Khoerul K., 28, Kebumen; Nuryanto,
\n29, Central Java; Cik Raden, 34, Bekasi; M. Imron, 36, Depok;
\nSutaryo (age not available), Bekasi; Ganjar Yudi, 21, Jakarta;
\nSuparno, 67, Jakarta; Yudi Martin, 22, Jakarta; Anton, 22,
\nBekasi.<\/p>\n
Wedding<\/p>\n
The news of the accident was a shock to Sapuroh, a Cirebon
\nnative who lived in Jakarta. Nuryanto, the man she planned to
\nmarry this month died in the crash.<\/p>\n
\"Where is Mas Nur ... where is Mas Nur,\" Sapuroh, 25, cried
\nat Gunung Jati hospital. A moment later, she fainted.<\/p>\n
\"Nuryanto left Jakarta for Cirebon to do some paper work so
\nthe couple could get married in Jakarta,\" said Sito, a friend of
\nNuryanto.<\/p>\n
Sapuroh rushed to Cirebon after a call from the hospital
\ntelling her the bad news.<\/p>\n
\"I can't believe it ... ,\" she said repeatedly.<\/p>\n
\"I can't believe it myself,\" said Sito.<\/p>\n
At Pelabuhan hospital, 29 injured victims were treated but 14
\nof them were allowed to go home after receiving treatment.<\/p>\n
\"Five of the remaining 15 patients will undergo surgery
\ntonight,\" said Siti Barokah, a nurse at the hospital's emergency
\nroom.<\/p>\n
In Ciremai hospital, one of the 11 victims admitted there had
\ndied, eight were still hospitalized and two had been discharged.<\/p>\n
Dr. Vinka Kumalasari of Gunung Jati hospital said only four of
\nthe 41 fatalities, including one in Ciremai hospital, died while
\nbeing treated. The rest had already died when they were admitted
\nto the hospital.<\/p>\n
Gunung Jati hospital was treating 13 victims injured in the
\ncrash, seven of them were allowed to go home and two others were
\ntransferred to other hospitals by their relatives.<\/p>\n
Fatal train accidents are not uncommon in Indonesia with
\nofficials blaming signal failure most of the time. Last
\nSeptember, a passenger train slammed into a cargo train in
\nBatang, near Semarang in West Java, killing 13 people.<\/p>\n
In 1987, 160 people were killed in a head-on collision between
\ntwo passenger trains in Bintaro, on the outskirts of Jakarta.
\n(ste\/25\/hbk)<\/p>",
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