Bus collides with train, four dead

Bus collides with train, four dead

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The Merak Jaya economy class train collided on Tuesday with a
Prima Jasa public bus at a railway crossing near the port of
Merak in Cilegon regency, leaving four bus passengers dead and 10
others injured, Antara reported.

No fatalities were reported among the train passengers.

The accident took place at 5.30 a.m, after the bus had
overtaken a public minibus, which stopped to wait for the passing
train.

The intersection was not equipped with barriers.

Both the bus and train were heading to Jakarta from Merak.

The early morning collision caused traffic congestion in the
area, as both bus and train blocked vehicles from passing through
the intersection.

Traffic was cleared after a crane was deployed at the accident
site to remove the bus.

The four fatalities were identified as Bambang, 51, Sutisna,
18, Safrudin, 25 and Manggudlapa, 28.

Meanwhile, 10 passengers severely injured in the accident were
Kholani, 31, Mahdum, 36, Syamsuri, 32, Effendi, 36, Kaspar, 42,
Jufriandi, 25, Ade Nurhayati, 25, Yeti, 30, Ahmad, 35 and Fajar
Maturo, 30.

The wounded are now being treated at the Krakatau Steel
hospital nearby.

The collision added to the list of train accidents in
Indonesia, which increased after the financial crisis hit the
country in 1997.

The most deadly accident occurred in December last year, as a
head-on train collision in the Central Java town of Brebes
claimed 54 lives.

Poor human resources have been cited as a cause of many of the
incidents involving trains in the country. Having identified that
human error was the prominent cause of the notorious accidents,
the government has raised the salary of state railway company
employees, particularly train drivers.