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)