JP\/4\/train<\/p>\n
Nine die, 23 wounded as train smashes into bus<\/p>\n
Apriadi Gunawan
\nThe Jakarta Post\/Medan<\/p>\n
In another train tragedy this year, at least nine people were
\nkilled and 23 others injured when a train slammed into a bus on a
\nrailroad crossing in Asahan regency, North Sumatra, early on
\nSunday.<\/p>\n
Police said a preliminary probe showed that the crash occurred
\nbecause the warning arms did not deploy as the Sri Bilah train
\npassed an intersection in Kisaran Timur district, some 260
\nkilometers southeast of Medan, the capital of North Sumatra.<\/p>\n
Witnesses told the police that the railroad attendant at the
\nintersection was not around during the accident that took place
\nat around 3 a.m.<\/p>\n
\"We are searching for the attendant who disappeared after the
\naccident. There is the possibility of making this man a suspect,\"
\nAsahan Police chief Adj. Sr. Comr. Mahfud Arifin said.<\/p>\n
He said none of the fatalities, who were taken to the Kisaran
\ngeneral hospital along with the wounded victims, had been
\nidentified due the absence of their identity cards.<\/p>\n
The nine bodies were all passengers of the ill-fated PO Pinem
\nbus, he added.<\/p>\n
\"Most of the victims perished after being thrown out of the
\nbus when the train rammed into the back,\" Mahfud said.<\/p>\n
The business class passenger train left Medan at around 10:45
\np.m. on Saturday to Rantau Prapat in Labuhan Batu regency.<\/p>\n
Medan's train station deputy head Joharno said that despite
\nthe nine deaths with 23 passengers injured -- most very seriously
\n-- the crash only caused minor damage to the train and that it
\nwould return to Medan on Sunday evening.<\/p>\n
Nor did the accident seriously disrupt the departure and
\narrival schedules of other trains in or around Medan, he added.<\/p>\n
Setiani Sinulingga, director of PO Pinem, which owns the bus,
\nsaid the nine dead included one of the drivers, identified only
\nas Budi, from Medan.<\/p>\n
\"All the fatalities were passengers in the rear of the bus. At
\nthe time, Budi was asleep along with them after he being relieved
\nby his counterpart,\" Setiani said.<\/p>\n
However, the number of the passengers aboard the 45-seat bus
\nremained unclear.<\/p>\n
Setiani said the bus was heading to Medan from Ujung Batu in
\nPekanbaru, Riau province.<\/p>\n
\"We are still waiting for a report from the bus terminal in
\nPekanbaru. But they could have picked up many passengers, who got
\non the bus at other stops, on its way to Medan. That's the
\ndifficulty for us in identifying the number of passengers,\" he
\nadded.<\/p>\n
According to Setiani, relatives of the dead and wounded would
\nreceive compensation from state-owned insurance firm PT Jasa
\nRaharja.<\/p>\n
Rail accidents often occur in the country, with many blaming
\nthem largely on the mismanagement of state-owned train company PT
\nKereta Api Indonesia. The maintenance of the aging railway
\nequipment and infrastructure, most of which was built by the
\nDutch colonial administration over 60 years ago, was also to
\nblame.<\/p>\n
On June 30, a passenger train slammed into another train in
\nRawa Bambu station in South Jakarta, killing at least five people
\nand injuring dozens of others.<\/p>\n
A week later, at least 25 passengers were hurt when their
\neconomy-class train collided with another train in Banjarsari
\nsubdistrict in South Sumatra.<\/p>\n
In another recent accident, an Argo Bromo executive class
\ntrain smashed into a pickup truck on June 2 in Cirebon, West
\nJava, wounding three people in the car.<\/p>\n
On May 20, a train accident in Bandarlampung, Lampung
\nprovince, killed six people, with KAI officials blaming it on
\nhuman error.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/jp4train-1447899208",
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