Crash victim worries about son's future

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Lying alone and helpless with an injured back and broken leg in a Pasar Rebo Hospital bed, Udin Komarudin regrets not getting off train No. 585 at Depok station.

"At the time, I was thinking that my last stop, Tebet station, was not too far and I could wait to use the bathroom there," the 33-year-old told The Jakarta Post early on Friday morning.

Less than an hour after his train left Depok station, Udin found himself in the middle of a major collision.

"I remember hearing a huge sound like an explosion. I thought it was a bomb. I was afraid the train was on fire."

"Suddenly my body was flung from the seat, my face hit an iron bar and I slammed into some passengers," he said.

At about 4 p.m. on Thursday afternoon, two trains packed with commuters collided in Rawa Buaya, Pasar Minggu, South Jakarta, killing three people and injuring more than 600. Most of the victims were taken to Siaga Hospital and Fatmawati Hospital, both in South Jakarta, and Cipto Mangunkusumo Hospital in Central Jakarta.

Udin is among 28 accident victims still being treated at Pasar Rebo Hospital. Initially 59 people were taken there. Two of them, Muktar and Jami Astuti, were pronounced dead on arrival and 29 were released after being treated for minor injuries.

Before being evacuated by rescuers from the Indonesian Red Cross, Udin remembered seeing bodies piled up inside his railway car, covered with blood.

"Shards of soft-drink bottles were everywhere. And people were crying for help. I could not do anything to help them, I could barely move," said Udin, who had gotten on the train at the Bogor station.

Udin said he could not remember anything else after he got out the car. As of Friday morning, he had no idea whether anyone had told his wife, Rukmana, 32, that he had been injured in the crash.

Udin, who works at a florist shop in Jatinegara, East Jakarta, had taken the train to work in the morning and had initially planned to return home in the evening.

"This morning I planned to enroll my son in school," he told the Post.

Udin is the father of seven-year-old Muhammad Ajid Fikri, whom he said was looking forward to his first day of elementary school.

Despite regretting that he did not get off the train at Depok, Udin said he was glad to be alive. But he was confused about what he would do next.

"Wherever I go, either to where I work or home, I do not have any money. I lost my wallet in the accident," he said, adding that he also wondered about who was going to pay for his hospitalization.

Hospital spokesman Deddy Suryadi said all of the hospital fees would be covered by the government, as promised by Minister of Transportation Hatta Rajasa and Coordinating Minister for People's Welfare Alwi Shihab.

The two ministers visited the hospital shortly after the accident.

When told he would not have to pay for his care, Udin told the Post he was very relieved. But the man who earns just Rp 15,000 a day had another question:

"Who will feed my family while I am here?" (006)