Four killed in train/truck accident

JAKARTA (JP): Four people were killed and two were injured on Monday when a Parahyangan passenger train traveling from Jakarta to Bandung crashed into a truck at a railway crossing near the Bekasi train station, east of here.

Reports quoted officials of the state run train company PT KAI and police as saying that a signalman at the site apparently raised the level crossing gates too soon, not realizing that the train was about to pass.

The truck, loaded with rocks, was struck by the train, then hit a sedan. Witnesses said the truck then dragged the sedan and two motorcycles for about 400 meters, until it fell into a river. As of 7 p.m. locals and rescue workers were still trying to raise the wrecked truck.

Fatalities included the truck driver Masidik, 35, a motorcycle passenger Rachmawati, 27, Nyai Rahayu, 20, and an unidentified man riding the second motorcycle. All were residents of Bekasi.

Rachmawati's husband Wasman, 32, sustained serious injuries to his head while his four-year-old son, Akbar, suffered injuries to his arm and face.

Wasman was rushed to the Cipto Mangunkusumo General Hospital in Central Jakarta, while his son was hospitalized at Mekar Sari Hospital in Bekasi.

Although the front part of the train was damaged and its passengers traumatized, the train managed to continue its journey to Bandung, West Java.

According to Bekasi Police chief Supt. Sutarman, the collision did not affect train schedules. Traffic around the railway crossing was temporarily closed for about 30 minutes following the accident.

Sutarman said two employees at the crossing post and several witnesses, including head of the Bekasi train station, were taken to the police station for questioning.

Last month a similar train accident occurred in Cimahi, West Java, killing four people.(07)