Derailment paralyzes rail links
ID Nugroho, The Jakarta Post , Surabaya
The north coast rail line from East Java to Central Java remained at a standstill on Friday after an economy-class train derailed in the country's second largest city, Surabaya, killing one passenger and injuring seven others.
State rail operator PT Kereta Api Indonesia (KAI) had to cancel all trains on the Surabaya-Semarang-Tawang line, including Rajawali trains.
Other trains traveling to and from Surabaya were rerouted onto the south coast line.
It is not clear yet when the north coast line will return to normal as KAI needed to repair the track and lift the derailed cars using a crane.
A Kertajaya train jumped the tracks at around 3 p.m. on Thursday in the Benowo area on the outskirts of Surabaya. It was traveling from the nearby Pasarturi railway station to Senen station in Central Jakarta.
Four of its 13 carriages derailed, leaving at least eight passengers injured. One of them, identified as M. Faqih, died a few hours later.
Rescue workers had to amputate Faqih's leg in order to lift him out as it had been trapped by steel beams.
After his leg was amputated, the victim was later rushed to the Dr. Soetomo General Hospital, while the other injured victims were taken to the Darrussifah Islamic Hospital in Benowo.
Doctors at the Dr. Soetomo Hospital said Faqih died from serious bleeding.
A physician at the Dr. Soetomo Hospital, Dr. Oerip Murtedjo, said Faqih, from Bojonegoro district in East Java, had died before his arrival at the hospital.
Most of the injured people were discharged from the Benowo hospital on Friday. Only two victims with serious injuries -- passenger Sukarsih, 57, and train driver M. Yusuf, 30 -- were still being treated.
PT KAI and state-owned insurance provider PT Jasa Raharja promised to compensate the injured and the family of the deceased, and cover their medical costs.
PT KAI and the police are still investigating the cause of the accident.
The country's railways are in a chronic state of disrepair, with frequent derailments and other accidents blamed by transportation experts and others on poor maintenance and management.
Passengers frequently cling to the sides of packed cars or perch on the roof.