Technical error cause of train accident: Legislator<\/p>\n
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
An investigation by the National Commission on Transportation
\nSafety (KNKT) has indicated that technical error was the main
\ncause behind the Sept. 2 train accident in Cirebon, West Java
\nthat claimed the lives of 41 people.<\/p>\n
Investigators concluded that the problems occurred in the
\nlocomotive cabin -- and not because of human error, as was
\npreviously believed, according to a legislator.<\/p>\n
Addressing journalists in Surakarta, Central Java on Saturday,
\nSoemaryoto, chairman of the House of Representatives' Commission
\nIV on Transportation, said the engineer, Suwanto, was dead from
\nthe locomotive's exhaust before the accident took place.<\/p>\n
\"According to the commission's report, exhaust from the train
\nmuffler entered the engineer's cabin, causing the engineer to
\ninhale a large quantity of carbon-dioxide,\" he said, as quoted by
\nAntara.<\/p>\n
The locomotive's muffler, said Soemaryoto quoting
\ninvestigators, was placed right in front the engineer cabin,
\nwhich created a situation whereby Suwanto lost consciousness and
\ndied.<\/p>\n
\"Therefore, when the red signals appeared, the engineer could
\nnot stop the train,\" Soemaryoto said. \"There was a strong
\nindication that he already passed away.\"<\/p>\n
Forty-one people perished, and another 62 were injured
\nby the train incident after the incoming passenger train smashed
\ninto the locomotive of another passenger Cirebon Express train at
\nthe railway station in Cirebon.<\/p>\n
The collision between incoming Empu Jaya train from Jakarta
\n-- bound for Yogyakarta with some 400 passengers on board its
\nnine cars -- and the locomotive took place at 3:45 a.m.<\/p>\n
Officials from the Ministry of Transportation and the state
\nrailway company, PT Kereta Api, quickly pinned the blame on
\nSuwanto for the incident.<\/p>\n
However, the results of a post-mortem examination of Suwanto,
\nshowed that he suffered a heart attack.<\/p>\n
The legislator went on to urge PT Kereta Api and the Ministry
\nof Transportation to be more \"introspective,\" rather than
\n\"blaming others for continuing train accidents.\"<\/p>\n
Fatal train accidents are not uncommon in Indonesia, where
\nofficials frequently blame signal failures.<\/p>\n
Last September, a passenger train slammed into a cargo train
\nin Batang, near the Central Java capital of Semarang, killing 13
\npeople.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/technical-error-cause-of-train-accident-legislator-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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