Cargo train hits minivan, seven killed

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.