12 killed in Lamongan train crash

JAKARTA (JP): Twelve people were killed and three others seriously injured when an express train plying the Jakarta- Surabaya route slammed into a public transit minibus at the railway crossing on Jl. Pahlawan, in Lamomgan, some fifty kilometers from the East Java provincial capital, yesterday morning.

East Java Police spokesman Lt. Col. Ahmad Ifai told Antara here yesterday that 10 of the victims died instantly, while the other two died in the Lamongan hospital. The injured are being treated at there.

The decease and injured were all passengers of the minibus.

Eyewitnesses said the minibus was dragged some 500 meters by the train upon impact. They blamed the horrifying accident on the carelessness of the minibus driver who sped through despite warnings that a train would soon be passing the railway crossing which has no barricade. (bas)