Bomb explodes, destroys railway track in Serpong
Bomb explodes, destroys railway track in Serpong
JAKARTA (JP): A bomb exploded early Saturday morning in the
middle of a railway bridge over the Cisadane river in Serpong
district, Banten province, shortly after a freight train passed.
A section of the railway track was destroyed but no fatalities
were reported.
Police also found two other bombs near the area, about one
kilometer from the Bumi Serpong Damai housing complex, some 30
kms from Jakarta.
The National Police's Gegana bomb squad arrived at the scene
at about 7 a.m. and defused the bombs. It is still unclear what
type of bombs they were.
"The bomb exploded at 2:25 a.m., just after the freight train
from Merak (Banten) en route to Surabaya (East Java) passed the
area," Tangerang Police chief Ast. Snr. Comr. Affan Rikwanto was
quoted by Antara as saying.
Affan said the police were questioning several witnesses.
Meanwhile, spokesman for the state-owned railway company PT
Kereta Api Indonesia (KAI) Zainal Abidin said the damaged section
of the tracks had been repaired.
"KAI cut off the damaged 10-meter section of the track and
changed it," he said.
"The Jakarta-Merak route was temporarily closed. At least 40
trains linking Jakarta to several cities in West Java such as
Banten, Cilegon, Tangerang, Rangkasbitung and Merak, could not
operate."
KAI, he added, had yet to estimate the financial losses caused
by the explosion.
The trains resumed operation at 10:55 a.m., after the damaged
track was repaired.
Minister of Transportation and Telecommunications Agum Gumelar
condemned the bomb attack and urged the authorities to find the
culprits.
"This is too much," Agum said.
He said he had asked intelligence officers to investigate the
incident.
Agum added that his ministry had received several bomb threats
against public transportation.
On Jan. 8, a boy found three live grenades on a railway track
in Lemah Abang district, Bekasi, West Java.
Several grenades and suspicious looking objects were found in
different places, including in a warehouse at St. Carolus
Hospital, last week.
Jakarta Police chief Insp. Gen. Mulyono said on Friday that
this indicated an attempt to create chaos.
The city was rocked by a wave of bomb attacks last year.
Ten people were killed when a bomb exploded in the parking lot
of the Jakarta Stock Exchange on Jl. Sudirman in September.
On Christmas Eve, bombs exploded in several parts of the
country, including Jakarta, claiming 19 lives. (jun)