Cargo train hits minivan, seven killed

Suherdjoko, Semarang, Central Java

A freight train crashed into a public minivan at a railway crossing in Pekalongan municipality here on Tuesday morning, leaving seven people dead and three others severely injured, all passengers of the minivan.

There were various accounts on the cause of the accident, which happened at 4:50 a.m in Wiradesa subdistrict.

Antara news agency quoted some eyewitnesses as saying the driver of the minivan sped up and tried to force his vehicle across the railway tracks as a railway employee was lowering the crossing barrier.

The train, which was traveling east from Jakarta to Surabaya, then slammed into the minivan.

Separately, the chief of the Pekalongan Police, Adj. Comr. Latif, offered a different account of the accident.

He said the accident occurred when the driver of the minivan, apparently unaware of the approaching train, attempted to cross the tracks. The chief said the crossing barrier had not been lowered and the warning siren was not sounding, accounting for the minivan driver's actions.

The seven people who died in accident were all Pekalongan residents. They have been identified as Wasdani, 50; Wahyuni, 50; Wartinah, 50; Wari, 45; Terengan, 65; Wasti, 65; and another unidentified man. The three people injured in the crash, also Pekalongan residents, were identified as Zaenab, 25; Sames, 40; and Latif, 39. They are being treated at Keraton Hospital in the city.

Local police have named Sarmidi, 55, the railway employee in charge of the railway crossing, as a suspect in the case. According to the police, he fell a sleep and forgot to lower the crossing barrier and sound the warning siren, which caused the accident.

Police investigators have charged him with neglect of duty leading to death. He is being charged under Article 356 of the Criminal Code, which carries a maximum sentence of five years in jail.

The fatal accident did not cause any delays for later trains as officials from PT KAI were able to clear the tracks shortly after the accident, said Suprapto, the spokesman for the company's operation area in Semarang.

The last major accident involving a train and a public transportation vehicle occurred three weeks ago in Jember regency, East Java. In that accident, a passenger train smashed into a bus, killing at least seven people and injuring 21 others.

Accidents are common on the country's aging railway network, with most occurring at railway crossings.

The low salaries received by railway employees has also been blamed as a cause of the frequent accidents.