Four dead, eight injured in a massive train collision<\/p>\n
KARAWANG, West Java (JP): Four people were killed and at least
\neight others, including a baby girl, injured in a three-train
\ncollision on a busy section of track in Karawang early on
\nTuesday, officials said.<\/p>\n
Services to and from Jakarta were disrupted throughout
\nTuesday.<\/p>\n
The accident occurred when two freight trains collided in
\nKlari district, on the capital's outskirts. An Argo Bromo express
\npassenger train from Surabaya to Jakarta smashed into the
\nwreckage several minutes later.<\/p>\n
\"The four fatalities have been identified as illegal
\npassengers on the freight trains,\" spokesman of state-owned PT
\nKereta Api Indonesia (KAI) Gatot Wibowo said.<\/p>\n
Most of the injured were people living along the track who
\nwere hurt when five cars veered off the rails and hit their
\nsemipermanent homes.<\/p>\n
Witnesses and officials said the accident occurred at about
\n4:30 a.m. on the track, which is about 70 meters from Poncowati
\nstation in Poncowati village.<\/p>\n
The collision caused a seven-hour delay for all train services
\non the tracks, which connect Jakarta to several major cities in
\nWest Java, Central Java and East Java. Thousands of passengers
\nwere stranded.<\/p>\n
\"However, since 3 p.m. (Tuesday) we have opened one of the
\ntracks and hopefully the train traffic will return to normal by 6
\np.m. today,\" Gatot said.<\/p>\n
He added the repaired railway track underwent safety tests
\nbefore it was passed for resumption of services.<\/p>\n
\"We apologize for the delay and the inconvenience as all
\npassengers on trains from and to Madiun, Semarang, Surabaya,
\nBandung, Cirebon and Jakarta had to wait until the track was back
\nin working order,\" Gatot said.<\/p>\n
Hundreds of local residents rushed to the site to assist the
\nrescue team.<\/p>\n
Sahid, 50, a resident of Jl. Tenggiri in North Jakarta, is
\nthe lone fatality to have been identified.<\/p>\n
The injured were taken to Karawang Hospital. They were
\nidentified as seven-month-old Umi, Miswanto, 25, Kustiah, 20, and
\nMardiono, 25. Four others suffered minor injuries.<\/p>\n
Umi was found alive under debris of her home and the train,
\nKardi, an eyewitness, said.<\/p>\n
\"We heard a thundering noise just before the cars hit the
\nhouses. The baby was found held tightly in her mother's arms.
\nBoth of them are in hospital now,\" Kardi said.<\/p>\n
As of Tuesday afternoon, a team of rescue workers, engineers
\nand laborers along with locals were trying to pull the wreckage
\nof the trains off the track and repair the line.<\/p>\n
The accident began when a Baja Satwa cargo train heading for
\nSurabaya from Jakarta was hit from behind by another freight
\ntrain bound for Bandung.<\/p>\n
\"Minutes after the first accident, the Argo Bromo (express
\ntrain) crashed into the collided trains. The freight trains,
\nwhich usually carry livestock or other cargo, were empty,\" Gatot
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
Three axles of the Argo Bromo train were broken in the
\naccident but none of its occupants were reported injured.<\/p>\n
The Argo Bromo passengers were hastily evacuated by bus to
\nJakarta.<\/p>\n
Gatot said the accident occurred because the driver of one of
\nthe freight trains ignored a red light.<\/p>\n
\"He may have been sleepy as it was 4:30 a.m. But still, he
\nviolated the rules and caused these accidents to happen.\"<\/p>\n
Police said an investigation was under way, but declined to
\nspeculate on the cause of the accident.<\/p>\n
Gatot said that since the fatalities in the accident were
\nillegal passengers, PT KAI would not make insurance payments to
\ntheir next of kin.<\/p>\n
\"We will, however, contribute to their burial,\" he said.<\/p>\n
PT KAI spokesman in Bandung Akhmad Sujudi said the accident
\ncaused at least Rp 50 million in losses as six Parahyangan trains
\nand Argo Gede passenger services to Jakarta were canceled.<\/p>\n
\"The total losses will be huge as the delay for all trains
\ncaused losses of hundreds of millions of rupiah, excluding the
\nmaterial losses in the accident,\" Akhmad said. (25\/edt)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/four-dead-eight-injured-in-a-massive-train-collision-1447893297",
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